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Access to legal aid for women in Malawi

Malawi’s gender legal and policy framework promotes gender equality and safeguards the welfare and participation of women in social, political and economic development process. It is enshrined in sections 20, 24 and 40 of the constitution. Moreover, the Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Act); Anatomy Act; Prevention of Domestic Violence Act; Deceased Estates Act; Child Care, Protection and Justice Act; and Gender Equality Act deal with specific aspects of gender equality and women empowerment.

The National Gender Policy provides an overarching policy framework while the National Plan of Action to Combat Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Malawi (2014-2020) provides a programmatic intervention to combat GBV. Details of the main organizations providing legal aid services to women in Malawi are provided below.

angle-left Women Lawyers Association

Women Lawyers Association

 

Women Lawyers Association (WLA) is a non-profit organization made up of women lawyers from: the public sector, private practice, commercial and non-governmental organizations; law students; paralegals, professional and lay magistrates and some honorary male lawyers. WLA’s mission is to champion the promotion and protection of the human rights of women and children with a view to contributing to realization and enjoyment of those rights through legal services, advocacy and research.

The Women Lawyers Association exists in four chapters, Blantyre, Lilongwe and Mzuzu and Zomba. The leadership of the Association is distributed in all four chapters. The legal services WLA provides are free.

Services

WLA provides legal, advocacy and research services on legal issues. Whilst everyone is welcome to submit their matter, in providing legal assistance, priority is given to poor women and children. In some cases, a minimal fee for expenses will be charged to those who can afford, and this is decided on basing on the the circumstances of each case. WLA  provides both criminal and civil legal assistance including representation, advice and any such legal matter that arises affecting their target population.

How to access WLA services

To access WLA legal services, one fills up a form online (www.womenlawyersmalawi.com) to submit contact details and briefly describe the legal issues that they are facing. Alternatively, one can contact WLA through e-mail or by visiting their offices. 

WLA also holds legal clinics targeting women in the chapters on a wide variety of topics. Details are available on WLA's Twitter and Facebook pages.

Contact information / Office locations

WLA operates mainly through two offices located in Blantyre and Lilongwe. They can be contacted through:

  1. Women Lawyers Association of Malawi
    C/O Malawi Law Society
    P.O. Box 1712, Blantyre

     

  2. Area 47/3
    First turn into sector 3
    Chitukuko Road, Lilongwe
     

Email: info@womenlawyersmalawi.com
Website: www.womenlawyersmalawi.com
Twitter: @WLAMalawi
Facebook: http://web.facebook.com/WLAMalawi

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