Legal hotline raises awareness, helps women

Yemen's first free 'legal' telephone helpline, providing legal advice to people living in the capital, Sana, was launched recently by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The hotline service is manned by a trained lawyer and human rights activist, Muneer al-Saqqaf, who answers questions relating to citizens' rights, and gives information to callers about proper court procedures. The goal of the hotline is to increase access to justice for all Yemenis but women are particularly seen as being able to benefit from the service and now make up the majority of callers. "For women, accessing courts is very culturally difficult in Yemen," UNDP programme associate Bushra Ahmed told IRIN. "Courts are very crowded. Women must be physically separated from men. They feel that it is not acceptable to be in that environment, that people will say they are not good women. Instead, they tend to prefer social avenues, or they don't seek access to justice. The hotline is a way for women to feel comfortable," Ahmed said. Most of the hotline's calls involve questions about divorce, child custody, abandonment by a spouse without provision for financial support and the withholding of inheritance from a women's father or husband. Yemen's legal system is based on Sharia’t or Islamic law. However, the problems women face are caused by the system and "not according to Islamic law," she added. "They are cultural, societal. The goal of the project is not only to support women within the courts, but outside of them as well," Ahmed continued. This legal advice telephone service is part of a larger project to improve the administration of justice run by the UNDP's Modernisation of Justice Sector and Yemen's Ministry of Justice. The overall aim is to modernise Yemen's legal system, increase transparency and to provide easily accessible information on the law to all Yemenis. It also aims to unify the documentation of cases using an automated case management system. It is hoped the new system will discourage corruption within the legal process. It should also allow involved parties to follow up on cases and find out what progress has been made. "It can take years to receive, then years to implement judgements in Yemen," Ahmed said. The new scheme is currently being tested in two pilot courts, one in west Sana and one in Aden. In the Sana court, visitors can go to a help desk that has been established to answer questions and to help navigate a way through the complexity of the courts correctly. There is a map showing the correct districts in which people should file cases and an accurate list of the official court fees. Training will be offered to judges and employees of the Ministry of Justice to help unify the legal system. "Often, people become judges by knowing Sharia’t, by practicing in their communities. Not by going to law school," Ahmed said. The project will make legal information accessible online in both Arabic and English, enabling judges to follow and adhere to Supreme Court decisions. This will allow both Yemeni citizens and foreign visitors to have access to the country's laws and the latest rulings. The justice reform project has a budget of US $2.2 million to be spent over three years. US $1.3 million is being provided by UNDP, with the rest to be raised from other donors.