Published on April 10, 2008,

By Edith Fortunate, The Standard.

More women should be trained to represent themselves in court, women lawyers have said.

The Federation of Women Lawyers (Fida-Kenya) say Kenya has about 5,000 advocates for a population of 32 million, translating to one lawyer for 6,500 citizens.

Fida says the shortage has led to a backlog of gender cases in court. However, it is confident that if women were educated on the procedures of the formal justice system, pending cases would be few.

In 2000, Fida introduced a formal justice system, which has helped more than 3,500 women.

In its annual report, So far, how far?, released on Tuesday, Fida says apart from helping women, the system guaranteed a faster disposal of cases.

"Ideal matters for self-representation programmes are those with child support and custody cases, matrimonial and non-contentious succession cases," the report says.

The report praises the Children’s Act, which came into force in 2001, for making it easier for unrepresented litigants to articulate their matters in court.

Fida trains clients how to represent themselves through workshops.

More than 85 per cent of such cases are won and in some instances, even where the other party is represented, women get favourable judgements.

The report also says some clients abandon cases half way due to avoidable mistakes.

The conduct of lawyers, especially when dealing with a self-representing litigant, the report says, is sometimes a matter of concern because they employ tricks to their advantage.

The Judiciary, the report adds, is a critical partner in the self-representation programme.

"When judicial officers understand the position of unrepresented litigants, they are more responsive to their needs and challenges," the report says.

Speaking at the launch, Nominated MP, Mrs Millie Odhiambo, regretted that only two laws to protect women and children had been passed in Parliament in the past two decades.

The Sexual Offences Act, 2006 and Gender and Development Act, 2003 are among them, 20 years after the Attorney-General set up a task force to look into laws that affect women.

Odhiambo asked fellow women MPs to team up with their male counterparts to pass pending legislation that could improve the lives of women and children.

"Things are slowing down and if we do not act, it will take 100 years to pass ten laws that protect women and children," she said.

Proposed laws pending in Parliament include the Marriage Bill, Matrimonial Property Bill, Equal Opportunities Bill, Family Protection Bill, Trafficking in Persons Bill and the Reproductive Health and Rights Bill all drafted, last year.

Present at the launch were Fida Chairperson, Mrs Violet Awori, Sotik MP, Ms Lorna Laboso, deputy Director of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission, Ms Fatuma Sichale, UNDP officials and civil society representatives.