The Commission on the Legal Empowerment of the Poor is carrying out a broad consultation process in several regions of the world. The consultations lead to consciousness-raising and national legal reforms

The Huairou Commission has seized the opportunity to partner with the Commission on the Legal Empowerment of the Poor to include the voices of poor women directly in their global consultation and legal reformation process. Legal Empowerment offers an important opportunity for the grassroots women to contribute their recommendations alongside other kinds of academics and experts. This grassroots participation truly puts empowerment into action!

The Commission on the Legal Empowerment of the Poor aims to make the link between poverty and the inability of the poor to access acceptable, legal structures to protect economic assets and support economic activities. Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto co-chair Legal Empowerment. Legal Empowerment is comprised of Commission members, many of whom are former heads of state and senior policy interns.

Common Issues Emerge as a Global Grassroots Platform
Common issues are evident from the Grassroots Academies held thus far. Repeating the process in more countries will help to consolidate a global grassroots platform of issues and recommendations. One common issue that stands out from the three Grassroots Academies is that women are pushing for citizen participation in the decisions made on the use of public land and natural resources. They call for national legal structures regarding property rights and access to justice to reach the local level through mechanisms such as information dissemination and Training of Trainers. They also call for more transparency around procedures for slum evictions. Regulatory reform and support services are required to support women’s entrepreneurship and simplification of bureaucratic procedures are necessary for women’s small businesses to succeed, they say.

Successful Grassroots Academies Held in Kenya, Uganda and Indonesia
Grassroots Academies, or grassroots women's consultations, were carried out by local affiliates of the Huairou Commission in preparation for the Legal Empowerment consultation process in their countries. Meaningful participation of grassroots women in setting policy agendas require preparatory processes that enable grassroots women to collectively determine their priorities, to identify barriers to their development work and to frame their recommendations.

Grassroots women leaders from groups in poor urban and rural communities gathered. They:

• Shared personal and community experiences and practices.
• Raised their awareness of the national legal context
• Developed a consolidated statement of recommendations.
• Presented their recommendations at the Focus Group Discussions and National Conferences held by Legal Empowerment
• Spoke of their concerns directly to national ministers of land and high level judges
• Demonstrated their constituency as visible and knowledgeable stakeholders that are contributing to the empowerment of their communities

Members of GROOTS Kenya with Madeleine Albright during a Legal Empowerment of the Poor consultation

In the GROOTS Kenya Grassroots Academy, women shared the problems they face as women, but they also explained how they are working as caregivers for people with HIV/AIDS and forming “watchdog” groups that dialogue with provincial administrators and have successfully begun to protect women’s property rights. Another representative, a street hawker, shared how city councils have failed to provide a safe environment and incentives for others to invest in the informal sector. Describing fights with the police over stall demolitions, she said that the government must recognize the role of the informal sector in alleviating poverty among poor people. Download GROOTS Kenya's report here.

In Indonesia, UPLINK supported women at their Grassroots Academy to document success stories such as the ability of domestic workers (housekeepers) to organize and gain support for a draft form of domestic worker’s insurance. Such insurance covers a working contract, standard payment, work load, working hours, health insurance and vacation and sick leave for domestic workers. Download UPLINK's report and best practices here.

In the Uganda Community Based Association for Child Welfare (UCOBAC)’s Grassroots Academy, women shared stories of accompanying people to courts where they were not provided with proper translation services or where they were discriminated against. They recommend that government make use of grassroots mechanisms such as Training of Trainers, to better disseminate information that empowers women to stand up to such discrimination. Download UCOBAC's report here.

Additionally, grassroots women from the Maasai Women’s Development Organization (MWEDO) participated in the national consultation process of Tanzania, bringing in their grassroots perspective. Download MWEDO's report here.

Contributions of the Huairou Commission to the thematic Working Groups
Property Rights, Access to Justice and Rule of Law, Legal Mechanisms to Empower Informal Businesses, Road maps for implementation of reforms: Implementation strategies, including Toolkits and indices

The following individuals have represented their organizations and the Huairou Commission by contributing to the work of the Working Groups:

• Esther Mwaura-Muiru, GROOTS Kenya
• Sizane Ngubane, Rural Women’s Movement, South Africa
• Maite Rodriguez, Fundación Guatemala
• Lily Hutjes, International Council of Women, Netherlands
• Prema Gopalan, Swayam Shikshan Prayog

Jan Peterson, Chair of the Huairou Commission, was also selected to represent the Huairou Commission on the Legal Empowerment Advisory Board

More Activities being Planned . . .

• Replication of Grassroots Academies in more countries:
  • Central America-wide (Held in Guatemala)
  • India
  • South Africa
  • Benin
• Monitoring activities at the local and national level for grassroots women to press for implementation of key recommendations
• Participation in the implementation process led by Legal Empowerment’s Working Groups

For more information on the Huairou Commission's involvement in Legal Empowerment, contact Dahlia Goldenberg: Dahlia.Goldenberg@huairou.org