African Women Lawyers Association

Membership

The African Women Lawyers Association (A.W.L.A) translated into French as L'Association Des Femmes Africaines Avocates was founded in 1998. The need to create a grouping of African Women Lawyers crystallized after a meeting of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) meeting held in Accra, Ghana in 1996. It was identified at that forum that African Women Lawyers must network effectively to address issues affecting women and children on the Continent specifically, and to present a uniform voice to articulate those issues at the United Nations and at other international fora.

A.W.L.A was registered in Ghana as a Non-Governmental Organization in 2000 and is duly recognized by the Department of Social Welfare and the Ghana Private Voluntary Organizations in Development (GAPVOD).

Currently, the Secretariat is located in Accra, Ghana and is manned by the indefatigable Executive Director, Edna Kuma. The Chairperson is Mrs. Betty Mould-Iddrisu, the Director of Legal and Constitutional Affairs at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London. She is a former Head of the International Law Division of the Ghana Ministry of Justice, President of FIDA Ghana and FIDA Africa.