Advanced Human Rights Course: Women’s Rights in Africa

The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, will host a 5-day intensive hybrid short course on women’s rights in Africa from 18 to 22 October 2021.

Course date: 18 – 22 October 2021
Venue: Zoom (online)

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Apply online


Important: COVID-19 information

This year’s course will be held in a hybrid format. There will be both physical and online attendance. A limited number of participants will be admitted to attend physically at the University of Pretoria’s Future Africa campus. COVID -19 protocols will be strictly followed. Participants wishing to attend physically are required to write a short motivation why they wish to attend the course physically. A limited number of partial scholarships are available. These partial scholarships are awarded on a very competitive basis.


About the course

The course provides a balance between theory and practical advocacy skills useful for practitioners from across the continent working in areas relating to women’s rights.

The course examines the international and regional human rights frameworks that guarantee the human rights of women and girls in Africa, with a particular focus on the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (The Maputo Protocol). The course provides an opportunity to critically evaluate the potential of these human rights frameworks to challenge obstacles undermining the effective protection of women’s rights in Africa.

The course components include:

  • An introduction to international, regional and subregional frameworks on the human rights of women and girls.
  • A critical examination of the concept of gender equality and the approaches to understanding gender equality and gender justice, including feminism and intersectionality.
  • Explore questions of cultural relativism, religion and gender norms in advancing women’s rights
  • Practical ideas on using the law and human rights principles in promoting women’s rights
  • Reflect on key elements of advocacy and lobby planning and share information on positive interventions.

Participants

This course is designed for governmental officials, managers and staff of civil society organisations, judges and magistrates, legal practitioners, as well as academics from universities in Africa. Participants from all over the world are, nevertheless, welcome to apply. Masters and doctoral students wishing to deepen their knowledge or expertise in a particular area of relevance to their study or research may also apply. All lectures and materials are in English, and proficiency in English is required to attend these courses.


Course fees

This year’s course will be held in a hybrid format. There will be both physical and online attendance. Online attendance will be offered on Zoom and is free.

The course fee is therefore FREE for online participants.


Partial scholarships

Participants wishing to attend physically are required to write a short motivation why they wish to attend the course physically. A limited number of partial scholarships are available. These partial scholarships are awarded on a very competitive basis.


Application procedure

Apply online

Important Notice:

A high proficiency in English is required to attend this course. All lectures and materials are in English. Prior to applying for this course, please read through the information on the practical information and the payment details pages.

Documents to be submitted:

  • Curriculum Vitae (short CV in PDF or Word document, maximum 3 pages, maximum 10 MB in file size)
  • One Letter of Recommendation (PDF or Word document, maximum of 10 MB in file size)
  • Academic Records (students only) (combined in one PDF or Word document, maximum 10 MB in file size)

*Please note that in order to apply for any of the Advanced Human Rights Courses, you are required to use a Google Gmail account.


Application deadline

Applications close on 17 September 2021.

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