India’s Daughter

  

For Jyoti Singh…Lest we forget...

One of the unsurprising mandatory courses offered at hopefully all law schools is Professional Ethics. Members of the public would be greatly pleased that in fact lawyers and advocates in training are indeed taught how to be courteous, how to keep clients reasonably informed as well as how to charge reasonable fees, manage separate client accounts as well as how to maintain other positive duties to clients such as good faith, confidentiality and competence among others.

Professional ethics also requires that an advocate cannot refuse a brief, provided that the client is willing to pay fees, and that the advocate is not otherwise engaged. There are obviously some exceptions to this general rule but it is indeed a bit  troubling to think that I may be ethically and professionally required to represent suspected terrorists, rapists or mass murderers as a right minded lawyer and that my personal beliefs, feelings or dispositions would be largely irrelevant!

This dread was further heightened last Friday during a professional ethics class when the course instructor required us to watch ‘India’s Daughter’, a 52 Minute BBC Production on the infamous Delhi gang rape that occurred in 2012. For the purpose of our class, it was material to listen, observe, learn and critic both the prosecution and defence lawyers stances. So gruesome were the facts and circumstances of this case that the Indian Bar Association had previously passed a resolution that no one should defend the accused rapists and minor in the matter contrary to the cab-rank rule that most commonwealth jurisdictions currently uphold.

Despite the legalese and rationale of watching this documentary in this particular class setting, I couldn’t help but notice how a given socialization process impacts how a particular group of  people reason and analyze situations both directly and indirectly. For instance, some of the comments given by both counsels in relation to the matter seemed to suggest that the victim was partly or entirely to blame for the heinous crime that ultimately resulted in her death!

Having never been to India before, it was glaringly evident from the contributors of the documentary that India has a very rich culture and history to which part, most of its inhabitants are proud of, but it is also chiefly repressive and discriminative towards girls and women who are considered second-class citizen. Most disturbing were averments made by the convicts; that a decent Indian girl should not be out alone without the company of a male relative or out alone at 8:00 p.m. entirely or even worse that she should not fight when being violated in the manner that she was!

 It was bitter sweet to see the huge outcry and multiple public protests that resulted from this incident. Indians of all ages, creed and gender took to the street demanding for women’s rights and the need to be afforded better protection. Most importantly they were also fighting for that Jyoti Singh gets the justice she deserves. It was indeed humbling and unifying to watch and it reaffirms the notion that history and hopefully socialization processes can be changed during such trying times.

Even if the law affirms that every person however wicked, depraved, vile, degenerate, perverted, loathsome, vicious or repulsive has a right to be defended in a court of law, every victim including Indian young lasses also have rights, duties and freedoms that must be respected and upheld in life and in death!

Advisory Application-FRIDA

FRIDA is recruiting passionate and committed young feminist activists from Middle East and North Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and Asia and the Pacific to join its Global Advisory Committee!

Since its founding, FRIDA has relied on a Global Committee of Advisors made up of mostly young feminist activists from all over the world. These Advisors play a key role in the following areas:

§  Facilitating FRIDA’s annual participatory grant making process by screening applications, reviewing final results, and supporting due diligence.

§  Supporting grantee partners’ capacity development and communication with FRIDA and conducting outreach.

§  Informing strategy and programmatic decisions in various areas of FRIDA’s work through thematic working groups such as Communications, Resource Mobilization, Capacity Development, and Grant making.

§  Informing FRIDA’s strategic direction every 5 years.

Given the increase in grant applications we receive each year and the need to expand our presence and work in more places, we are currently recruiting Advisors from each of the following regions:

§  Middle East and North Africa

§  Asia and the Pacific

§  Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Must haves for eligible candidates

§  At least 5-10 hours a month available to dedicate to FRIDA

§  Three or more years demonstrated commitment to advancing women’s rights, equality and non-discrimination and feminist movement building;

§  Three or more years demonstrated thematic or regional expertise with young women’s organizations/initiatives working for women’s rights, including time in a leadership role at a local, national, regional or global level;

§  Functional spoken and written English language skills, with Arabic, French, Russian, Mandarin, and Hindi extremely desired

§  Skills in such areas as project management, workshop facilitation, capacity-building, movement building and/or monitoring and evaluation;

Candidates also must have at least two years’ experience in at least ONE of the following areas:

§  Fundraising experience, such as applying for or receiving monetary grants from a donor or organizing fundraising activities with individuals (i.e. events or online crowd funding)

§  Grant-making, international development, or funding institution (experience grant-making or monitoring, evaluation, and learning for young women’s groups and/or start-up, small or community-based groups highly desirable)

§  Communications experience, managing websites, communication campaigns, writing blogs and op-eds,

§  Private sector especially in the areas of law, finance, accounting and/ or corporate social responsibility. Candidates must have an educational background that aligns with their current role in the private sector

Applicants aged under 35 years old are strongly encouraged to apply. 

How to Apply

1. Download and complete the New Advisors Application 2015 ENG. 

2. Send completed applications and your CV/resume to recruitment@youngfeministfund.org as soon as possible and before 10 June 2015. Please put “Advisory Committee” in the Subject Line.

Akili Dada's Emerging Leaders Workshop

Akili Dada is excited to announce their Emerging Leaders Workshop set to take place from the 22^nd to the 23^rd of May 2015.

The 3 day workshop is designed for young women (18 to 25) in institutions of higher learning who aspire to vie for student government positions. We believe that these young women are the future leaders of this country and continent and by nurturing their leadership skills we are contributing to transformative leadership across sectors.

Help us spread the word and share this opportunity with young women who are keen on taking up student government or student leadership positions.

Follow this link for applications 

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask! You can email info@akilidada.org for additional information!

Kind regards

Akili Dada Team

Open Society Youth Fellowship

For more information check out http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org

The Open Society Youth Fellowship supports young activists and organizers as thought leaders and allies in crafting solutions and new youth-focused approaches to open society challenges.

Youth Fellows should take advantage of the considerable intellectual and logistical resources of the Open Society Foundations and expect to contribute meaningfully to the Foundations’ thinking in return. While fellows will work outside of Open Society Foundations core offices, they will liaise with the Open Society Youth Exchange to identify opportunities for both in-person and virtual engagement with Open Society staff and partners. The Youth Exchange will work with each individual fellow to identify additional opportunities for the fellow to learn from and collaborate with staff and partners through site visits, speaking engagements, and other fora.

Fellows may produce a variety of work products, including publications, such as reports and blog posts; infographics and other visual content; innovative education and training resources and tools; the launch of new campaigns and organizations; and creation of artistic or cultural expression projects. They may also engage in activities such as hosting panel discussions, traveling to conferences, and presenting on their work in other public spaces.

Eligibility Criteria

All applicants should be under the age of 30. While we will consider applicants who are currently employed by a civil society organization or university, we will request additional information to confirm that the individual is acting on their own in regards to their proposed project, and that their current employer is flexible with their independent role as a Youth Fellow.

The Youth Exchange accepts proposals from anywhere in the world, with a particular interest in proposals from the global south. Applicants should possess a deep understanding of their particular field and a record of successful movement-building initiatives, innovative project management experience, and/or experience in research/tools development. Applicants must be proficient in spoken English.

Fellowship applications should relate to at least one of the following areas of work:

• youth mobilization and innovation in traditional human rights movements (i.e., the LGBTQ rights movement, disability rights, women’s rights, drug policy reform, etc.)
• youth participation and civic engagement particularly around elections
• youth-led movements
• youth-led work in the field of justice (for example, policing, pretrial detention, incarcerated youth, or alternative sentencing)
• youth tactics in advocacy and awareness raising (for example new media, arts activism, peer-to-peer networks, etc.) around human rights issues
• youth in closed or transitional societies

Ineligibility Criteria

Only individuals may apply. We will not accept proposals that are clearly on behalf of an NGO or other formal organization. Fellows may not use stipends to replace funding for activities or projects that a host organization is already implementing. Enrollment for degree or non-degree study at academic institutions, including dissertation research, and projects that include lobbying activities will not be funded.

Purpose and Priorities

Fellows will receive a stipend of $35,000–50,000 depending on experience and current income. The fellowship will also cover some travel and project costs related to the fellows’ work to be discussed. 

Applications will be reviewed by a selection committee comprised of Open Society Foundations staff. Reviewers consider whether the applicant’s background, track record, and depth of expertise give reason to believe that the project will be successfully completed and whether the applicant offers persuasive evidence that the fellowship project will significantly inform the public and the Open Society community.

Selection and Notification Cycle

• Applications due: May 15, 2015
• Applications review: May/June 2015
• Applicants notified of their status: late June 2015
• Short-listed applicants invited for an in-person, Skype, or telephone interview: by July 1, 2015
• Fellows notified: late July 2015
• Fellows announced: early August 2015

Guidelines

All interested applicants should complete the online application form and submit supporting materials for consideration. Applicants may submit a project proposal or other materials in a language other than English, as long as they also submit an English translation. Certified translations are strongly recommended.

Once the initial information has been entered, applicants receive login details and an ID number that allows them to make additions and revisions to the form until materials are submitted. The ID number should be quoted in any correspondence. The program strongly encourages applicants to submit only electronic supporting materials. However, if applicants have hard copy materials that they feel are essential to the evaluation of their project, they can list these at the end of the project proposal. Fellowship staff will reach out to applicants should it be necessary to review these materials.

Note: Only applicants without internet access may send an application by post. An application form is available in the Download Files section. All others must apply online. For more information or technical difficulties with the online application form, please contact the Youth Exchange at youth.exchange@opensocietyfoundations.org.   

Top of Form

Diary of a Ksl student.

Finally I am taking the bar exam sometime later this year. Its hard work being a student and of course from my hay days in undergraduate school, I have heard numerous horror stories of the bar school and the bar exam! Sometimes I feel that this gruesome detail of account from my peers (now learned friends) has been to prepare me mentally for the intense pressure but other times I also feel that the same is meant to scare and cause me unnecessary anxiety too!

So on February 2^nd 2015, when I started my KSL journey, I decided to have my own voyage regardless of all the misconceptions and perceptions that I had been made aware of. I decided that I was going to write my own story based on my own experiences, feelings, learning’s and failures alike! And this has been my journey thus far…

I recall getting through law school; it took effort and hard-work! I would therefore be highly suspicious if the same (and maybe a bit more) was not required of me at the bar school. There have been times when I have been too fatigued to have a normal decent conversation with my family and friends as the assignments, presentations and group work seem to constantly constitute my to-do list! I am immensely thankful however for my awesome firm members who make the work worthwhile, effortless and for being an extremely supportive structure to vent when the going gets though. We do occasionally drive each other crazy and have our differences but we are also intent of getting the work done!

learning advocates in training

Differences are always going to be there especially when you have a classroom full of lawyers some of whom are allergic to plain simple English! I vividly recall an initial class when the initial introductory remarks of one of my colleagues went something along the lines of responding to the tria-pad nomenclature of XYZ. Some lecturers will also give ridiculous timeframes or communicate critical deadlines in the strangest of manners but I reckon there isn’t a school without a little bit of drama! I am choosing to let these sideshows not take too much of my energy which is already limited.

Despite all the assignments, case briefs to plough through and statutes to comb through, I am actively making time to do other things such as volunteer for legal aid clinics at Langata Women’s Prison and share my legal knowledge and test out client interview theories! I have also made time to feed the giraffe’s which are sheltered a stones-throw away from school! A little down-time now and then is critical to ensure that I remain focus and energized to carry on!

A trip to the Giraffe center 

In a nut shell, the last few months have been intense to say the least but it’s bearable. With proper planning and meticulous time-management I think that I will be just fine and as I said this is my journey, I get to write the script my way!

Warm congratulations to ATP 2014/2015 who recently got their results…well done guys! Now go make a difference in the world!

Judgment on Section 24 of the HIV & AIDS Prevention and Control Act-Kenya

Written By Kate Kiama and Initially Published on  http://www.aidslawproject.org/

The AIDS Law Project instituted a suit, in Petition No. 97 of 2010 against the Hon. Attorney General and the Director of Public Prosecutions in their capacities as the legal representatives of the Government. After listening to the parties and reading the pleadings, a three judge bench of the High Court in Nairobi delivered its judgment on the 18^th March 2015 with regard to the constitutionality of section 24 of HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control Act and found in favour of AIDS Law Project.

Honorable Justice Isaac Lenaola, Mumbi Ngugi and George V Odunga held that Section 24 of the HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control Act is vague, overbroad and lacks legal certainty particularly with respect to the term ‘sexual contact’. The main contention by the Petitioners was that whereas the term ‘sexual contact’ is widely used in the said section and Act, Parliament did not make any attempt to define it and the same was left to the subjective views of either, the prosecutor, policeman or the court to determine its intention. It was further contended that this term was vague because one might suppose that it includes kissing, holding hands, exploratory sexual contact or penetrative intercourse.

The High Court held that the section was so broadly drafted that its interpretation could also apply to women who expose or transmit HIV to a child during pregnancy, delivery or breastfeeding. The court reaffirmed two principles of legality: that no one should be punished under a law unless it is sufficiently clear and certain to enable him to know what conduct is forbidden before he does it; and no one should be punished for any act which was not clearly ascertainably punishable when the act was done as espoused by article 50 (2) of the Constitution.

The court further held that Section 24 of the HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control Act contravened article 31 of the Constitution of Kenya in regard to the right to privacy of a person living with HIV who has disclosed their status to their ‘sexual contacts’; yet there was no corresponding obligation is place on recipients of such sensitive medical information to keep it confidential. Such unwarranted disclosure of information was therefore against the right to privacy as guaranteed by the Constitution and also confounds the situation by prejudicing people living with HIV and AIDS by exposing them to stigma, violence and discrimination.

The court recommended the State Law Office to review the HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control Act 2006  with a view of avoiding future litigation surrounding the said legislation.

Find a full copy of the judgment here. http://kenyalaw.org/caselaw/cases/view/107033/

Apply to join as Directors at Green the Gene's Global Board.

Just wanted to share an excellent opportunity for talented and enthusiastic young people (under the age of 24) to lead environmental action as Directors at Green the Gene's​ Global Board. 

Green the Gene is an international completely youth-run, non-profit environmental organisation, founded in 2004 by a small group of passionate, determined, and concerned youth. Today, with 18-year-old Founder & President Madhav Datt, Green the Gene is successfully building a global grassroots movement for positive environmental action through over 4500 children and youth volunteers from schools and universities across 42 countries, making it one of the largest completely youth run environmental non-profit organizations. (www.greenthegene.org)

This is a chance to gain international exposure and experience running a non-profit, while leading on-ground initiatives and mass-mobilizations, representing the organization at global summits and conferences, and participating in youth advocacy and lobbying efforts.

Apply to join as Directors at Green the Gene's Global Board at http://bit.ly/gtg_board.

Deadline: 25th April, 2015

For more information or questions about the roles, available positions etc. visit  bit.ly/gtg_board or www.greenthegene.org. Share this opportunity with widely.

www.greenthegene.org