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Below is an article written by Akhila Kolisetty on her blog Justice for All. Akhila recently graduated from Northwestern University and now works in D.C. for a civil rights law firm which uses litigation to advocate for the rights of racial minorities, the disabled, immigrants, refugees, prisoners & the indigent. You can read her original article here. Thanks Akhila!Lately, I have been researching legal aid organizations around the world to learn more about other access to justice models that provide effective legal assistance to the poor. Thankfully, I stumbled upon the gem that is BRAC: who knew they had a ‘legal empowerment‘ arm?
Below is an article written by Akhila Kolisetty on her blog Justice for All. Akhila recently graduated from Northwestern University and now works in D.C. for a civil rights law firm which uses litigation to advocate for the rights of racial minorities, the disabled, immigrants, refugees, prisoners & the indigent. You can read her original article here. Thanks Akhila!Lately, I have been researching legal aid organizations around the world to learn more about other access to justice models that provide effective legal assistance to the poor. Thankfully, I stumbled upon the gem that is BRAC: who knew they had a ‘legal empowerment‘ arm?
BRAC’s Human Rights and Legal Services (HRLS) program provides legal education, legal aid and support services to protect marginalised communities from discrimination and exploitation in order to ensure access to justice for the poor through both formal and informal systems. Their work goes beyond the scope of legal representation and reflects BRAC’s awareness of the current socio-economic context and the underlying causes of vulnerability.
Their work has the following 3 components:
BRAC holds workshops with community leaders to increase gender/human rights awareness – which is a first step to reducing corruption and structural mistreatment of women within the government and communities. More than 15,000 community leaders attended these training workshops in 2008. By educating people at all levels, understanding of the legal system becomes common knowledge and translates into sustainable change. Following workshops, community leaders form a committee and make a commitment to promote fair treatment and proper implementation of laws throughout the region.
In 1998, BRAC began the Legal Aid Programme to provide legal support and make the courts accessible to the poor. The HRLS programme operates 541 clinics in 61 districts of Bangladesh and is the largest NGO-led legal aid programme in the world. Over the past ten years, the Legal Aid Programme has grown to include the Alternative Dispute Resolution Programme, expanded legal offices and counsels, gender awareness training, and village-based law implementation committees. The focus has thus shifted from education to empowered action to improve legal legislation and the judicial system. Over the last five years, HRLS has provided legal aid support to 340 victims of acid throwing. They also do important work in representing individuals accused of a crime in Dhaka, working to clear out the prisons and alleviate overcrowding and horrible prison conditions.
Last, but not least – I am especially impressed by the following innovations:
Needless to say, I am quite impressed by their work in legal empowerment as well as their comprehensive reports and studies done to evaluate the need and the effectiveness of their programs in Bangladesh. Especially after the latest Greg Mortenson scandal, I am always looking for concrete monitoring and evaluations done by NGOs. Check out this excellent report for a good review of the impact of BRAC and other Bangladeshi legal aid organizations: Legal Empowerment Strategies in Bangladesh: Empowering Women and Poor People through Legal Means.
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