SAWF is pleased to announce the launch of its Legal Fellowship Programme in its five countries of operation in the region – Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

SAWFThis programme seeks to promote women’s rights through a feminist legal praxis, enabling a creation of a legal resource pool to support and work for women survivors of violations. The Fellowship Programme will build capacities of individual women lawyers in feminist legal practice; to undertake work at the primary level, and provide them the ability to be a resource for the communities of women seeking to access their human rights and redress the violations of the same.

The programme will strengthen access to justice for women in the region, by promoting feminist legal advocacy, through enhancing feminist legal practice and intervention by and for women in the region.

The specific objectives of the programme are as follows:

  1. To enable access to justice by strengthening the human resource pool within communities, including support to individuals who can facilitate these processes.
  2. To build a collective voice to advocate claims and justice
  3. To promote learning and exchange between women lawyers in South Asia, mainly between the countries of Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, by providing support to a small nucleus of women lawyers, working in primary courts.
  4. To enhance and promote the shared understanding of law and legislation pertaining to women’s human rights in the region and its importance in promoting women’s rights and social justice.
  5. To build collaborative spaces with feminist lawyers who promote women’s human rights and social justice in the region.

Each of the identified fellows will be connected with an organized civil society group, with the capacity of intervening to ensure various elements are fulfilled, which includes the capacity to access and link with legal case-work, access to precedents, case preparations etc. The programme will also identify acclaimed women lawyers working at the national level to mentor some of the identified fellows.

Criteria and guidelines for application

The call is open to women lawyers, women human rights defenders with para-legal training from Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka who have at least two years experience of working on women’s rights issues through a feminist legal praxis.

  • The programme must be focused and located in small towns, at the primary/lower court level.
  • The amount of the fellowship will be up to USD 4000, for a period of upto one year.
  • The application should follow the fellowship grant application and budget format given.
  • A complete CV, detailing the applicant’s qualifications and experience must be attached with the application.

Applications should be addressed and sent by email to:

The Programme Officer
South Asia Women’s Fund
Email id: sawfrgp@sawf.info

If an electronic application is not possible, please post an application to:

South Asia Women’s Fund
16/6A Mohideen Terrace, Ward Place
Colombo 7, Sri Lanka

Application Deadline:
31 st January 2013.

Apart from English, SAWF will receive applications in all the regional languages.
The application form and the criteria is on the website www.sawf.info 

The names of successful applicants will be posted on SAWF’s website by 28th February 2013.