Annual Regional Training: Laure Moghaizel
The AiW has launched a new project that aims to enhance the capacities of female activists, human rights advocates, media professionals, and bloggers working on gender issues in the Arab region, and specifically in Lebanon.
This initiative, led by The AiW, in collaboration with the Arab Institute for Human Rights, and funded by Canada Fund for Local Initiatives, is a one-year project that entails conducting two regional online training courses. These trainings, which will be given in Arabic, will promote an advanced feminist human rights discourse and will spread the importance of advocating for gender justice in light of the COVID-19 pandemic that has sparked an unprecedented increase in Gender-Based Violence (GBV) globally.
The project will be implemented in two phases:
Phase I: General Training
The first phase of the project entails delivering an online training on human rights principles and international treaties. It will also address the status of women, girls, and vulnerable groups and the violence they face at times of conflict and lock-downs imposed by the governments due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 80 to 100 female participants will be selected to take this training.
Upon the completion of this phase, 25 participants will be chosen to take the special training based on their level of engagement, commitment, and participation.
Phase II: Specialized Training
The second phase of the project will be a specialized online training, that entails working on international concepts, treaties, conventions, and mechanisms related to women and girls’ rights in the Arab region. The training will also address gender justice issues, the women, peace, and security agenda and the importance of the national action plans. It will also address the rights of vulnerable groups during armed conflicts, crises, and pandemics, sexual violence and intimate partner violence. Moreover, a session will be reserved to addressing, reporting, and documenting sexual violence and developing reports on the situation of women and girls at times of emergencies such as the blast in Beirut port and pandemics, with a focus on COVID 19.
In December 2020, we opened the call for applications and received around 400 applicants from Lebanon and different countries in the Arab region. In collaboration with the Arab Institute for Human Rights, we selected 120 applicants to participate in phase I of the training. 55 participants were selected from Lebanon and 65 participants were selected from Palestine, Sudan, Mauritania, Syria, Libya, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Tunisia, Morocco, and Egypt.
Phase I of the training will begin on March 6, 2021 and end on March 28, 2021. The participants will be divided into four groups, in which each group will take a two-hour session once a week for a period of four weeks.
These trainings will be administered by well-established trainers in the field of human rights with extensive experience in conflict areas.
- The first session is on international law in times of conflict. The session will be delivered by Dr. Khaled Al Mejri, university professor in Tunisia.
- The second session is on the status of women in times of conflict. The session will be delivered by Ms. Mervat Rishmawi, Senior Human Rights Consultant Researcher and Policy Analyst.
- The third session is on sexual violence against women and girls in times of conflict. The session will be delivered by Maitre Manar Zaiter, Lawyer and Human Rights Activist.
- The fourth session is on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the rights of women. The session will be delivered by Ms. Jumanah Zabaneh, Program Coordinator at UN Women.
An opening ceremony will be held on February 27, 2021, via Webex.
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