EUPOL COPPS concluded on Tuesday 22 October 2019 the last leadership workshop for Palestinian female lawyers to further enhance their capabilities in commanding key role in the Palestinian Bar Association (PBA).

During the session, many of the participants praised the workshop which gave them a number of tips to engage with the leadership. The previous sessions for about two dozen female lawyers touched upon way forward and recommendations for continuing the efforts of empowering female lawyers in Palestine.

Jawad Obeidat, the head of the PBA, said he cannot wait for the day to see a female lawyer taking over his post in the near future. “I am confident you are capable to do it. You have a sufficient number (of female lawyers),” he said during a ceremony for distributing the certificates together with the head of EUPOL COPPS Mission Kauko Aaltomaa at the Ramallah based Mission’s Headquarters. “We are keen on promotion of gender equality and the fact that women will continue to play an increasingly important role in the Bar Association and in the Palestinian justice institutions,” said Mr. Aaltomaa.

There are 5,087 Palestinian lawyers registered at PBA and about one third of them are female lawyers, quite a substantial percentage in comparison to other institutions. The PBA is one of several other justice institutions that the Mission has been supporting for the past 10 years.