(Vèsyon kreyòl anba a)
BAI Hosts Webinar With the Next Generation of Women Human Rights Lawyers
Want a reason to be hopeful about Haiti? WE HAVE FOUR FOR YOU. Four women law graduates (finissantes) in the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux’s (BAI) legal training program supporting students from marginalized backgrounds completed their theses in the summer of 2023 – a significant hurdle on the path to becoming a qualified lawyer in Haiti. On August 17, BAI and IJDH gathered with attendees from across the world to get some inspiration from these exceptional women for how to keep advancing the fight for advancing human rights in Haiti. The finissantes discussed their research – all on social-justice topics – and their vision for a Haiti in which women are empowered to lead and contribute fully and equally, both in law and in other spheres of Haitian life.
Watch the Recording of the Webinar (English and Haitian Creole) HERE
Passcode: 9=#6qZuK
Read more about the event in blog post with the
Boston Network for International Development
Haiti’s justice system has, for centuries, excluded women and people from modest backgrounds who might use the law to challenge the unjust structures that keep women marginalized and most Haitians poor. Twelve years ago, the BAI could not find a single woman lawyer to staff its Rape Accountability and Prevention Project (RAPP). Today, three experienced women lawyers run RAPP. One of them – Abigail Derolian, herself a former finissante – moderated the webinar. Me Derolian discussed the barriers to women’s equality in Haiti and the human rights challenges facing women in Haiti. Becoming a lawyer in Haiti is difficult, explained Me Derolian. On top of the academic and professional requirements, “a woman that wants to become a lawyer in Haiti. . . . has to deconstruct the stigmatization of the profession of lawyer [as a man’s job].”
“BAI helps . . . women navigate through this system” to enter the legal profession,” added fellow former finissante Fabiola Félix in her concluding remarks. And these are the women who now lead the fight for human rights in Haiti. “[W]e appeal in the courts for [victims]. . . . The state, the Government . . . should guarantee this work; they should put in place mechanisms,” but they do not. “[A]nd it is our duty as lawyers to put pressure on that system so rights are respected in order for the whole population to benefit from it. . . . and we are going to continue to fight in order for human rights in Haiti to be respected.”
Finissantes Marie Christelle César, Sancarah Merveille, Wesfarly Germain, and Dina Cajuste presented their research on critical human rights issues. Me César spoke about the government’s abandonment of Martissant, one of the areas hardest hit by Haiti’s insecurity and humanitarian crises. Me Merveille shared her findings on the right to civil identity – a gateway to other fundamental rights – and access to civil registration in rural Haiti. Me Germain’s work focused on the government’s failure to safeguard the right to education in Haiti, which disproportionately affects girls. Me Cajuste spoke about the dire condition of Port-au-Prince’s healthcare system and the impacts on residents, especially women and girls.
A central theme in the discussion concerned how these women are breaking down gender inequality in Haiti’s society, which keeps women from many public roles and exposes them to violence; and dismantling the more specific systemic barriers to women’s engagement in the legal profession. “We in BAI – the women that are defending the rights of women and girls that are victims of rape or conjugal violence – are faced everyday with cynicism and sexism from men in the system,” observed Me Derolian. She added: “[T]he fight that is being done along with BAI for women and young girls that are victims of violence – it shows how important it is for us not to stop . . . in spite of all the barriers. . . . It is a pillar for us to continue to fight.” These advocates persist and prevail not only in directly supporting women and girls confronted with human rights violations, but also in breaking down unequal and oppressive systems.
There is much cause for despair in Haiti today. But the BAI’s legal training program, designed to cultivate the next generation of human rights lawyers and to break down barriers in the legal profession, is one of many examples of Haitians constructing a foundation for a more stable, equitable, and prosperous country. All six of the participants came through BAI’s legal training program, which supports individuals from marginalized backgrounds in their path to become lawyers. “I knew that I had to push forward and go further, but in order to do so, I have to be in a position where I can actually take the steps that I wanted to do,” said Me César. BAI offered her the support she needed to take those steps, as it is doing for so many others through both community education and support for individual advocates.
The finissantes completed their theses under exceptionally difficult conditions – gun violence and lockdowns prevented all four women from coming to work on many occasions and almost kept one from joining the webinar. Their accomplishment is the result of astounding personal perseverance, as well as the perseverance of their BAI colleagues. These women are now poised to advance human rights for decades.
You can help the finissantes and the rest of the BAI team continue that fight. Men anpil, chay pa lou – many hands lighten the load. We hope you will consider lending a hand to support the critical work of the finissantes and to help the BAI continue fighting for the rights of women, girls, and all Haitians.
We are grateful to Respond Crisis Translation, an important IJDH partner in our efforts to promote language justice, who supported simultaneous interpretation between Haitian Creole and English, for their commitment to language justice and supporting accessibility for critical publications and important events like this one.
BAI òganize yon webinar ak pwochen jenerasyon fanm avoka dwa moun
Ou vle yon rezon pou w gen espwa sou Ayiti? NOU GEN KAT POU OU. Kat fanm diplome dwa (finissantes) nan pwogram fòmasyon legal de Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI) ki sipòte etidyan ki soti nan orijin majinalize yo te konplete tèz yo nan ete 2023 – yon obstak enpòtan sou chemen pou vin yon avoka kalifye an Ayiti. Jou ki te 17 out, BAI ak IJDH te reyini ak patisipan atravè lemond pou jwenn kèk enspirasyon nan men fanm eksepsyonèl sa yo pou kijan pou yo kontinye avanse batay pou avanse dwa moun ann Ayiti. Finissantes yo te diskite rechèch yo – tout sou sijè jistis sosyal – ak vizyon yo pou yon Ayiti kote fanm yo gen pouvwa pou dirije ak kontribye totalman e egalman, ni nan lalwa ak nan lòt esfè nan lavi ayisyen an.
Gade Anrejistreman Vebinè a (Angle ak Kreyòl Ayisyen) ISIT
Paskod: 9=#6qZuK
Li plis sou evènman an nan pòs blog ak
Rezo Boston pou Devlopman Entènasyonal
Sistèm jistis Ayiti a, pandan plizyè syèk, eskli fanm ak moun ki soti nan orijin modès ki ta ka sèvi ak lwa a pou konteste estrikti enjis yo ki kenbe fanm majinalize ak pifò ayisyen pòv. Sa gen douz ane, BAI pa t ka jwenn yon sèl fanm avoka pou yo anplwaye nan Pwojè Pou Prevansyon ak Pinisyon Vyòl (RAPP) li. Jodi a, twa fanm avoka ki gen eksperyans ap dirije RAPP. Youn nan yo – Abigail Derolian, li menm yon ansyen finissante – modere vebinèr la. Me Derolian te diskite baryè ki genyen nan egalite fanm ann Ayiti ak ki defi dwa moun fanm yo ap rankontre ann Ayiti. Li difisil pou w vin yon avoka an Ayiti, eksplike Me Derolian. Anplis de egzijans akademik ak pwofesyonèl yo, “yon fanm ki vle vin yon avoka an Ayiti. . . . dwe dekonstwi stigmatizasyon pwofesyon avoka [tankou yon travay pou gason].”
“BAI ede. . . fanm navige sistèm sa a “pou antre nan pwofesyon legal la,” te ajoute parèy ansyen finissante Fabiola Félix nan remak konklizyon li yo. Epi se medam sa yo ki ap mennen batay la pou dwa moun ann Ayiti kounye a. “[Nou] fè apèl nan tribinal yo pou [viktim yo]. . . . Eta a, Gouvènman an. . . ta dwe garanti travay sa a; yo ta dwe mete mekanis an plas,” men yo pa fè sa. “[E] se devwa nou kòm avoka pou nou mete presyon sou sistèm sa a pou dwa yo respekte pou tout popilasyon an ka benefisye de li. . . . epi nou pral kontinye goumen pou dwa moun ann Ayiti ka respekte.”
Finissantes Marie Christelle César, Sancarah Merveille, Wesfarly Germain, ak Dina Cajuste prezante rechèch yo sou kesyon kritik dwa moun. Me César te pale de abandon gouvènman an nan Matisan, youn nan zòn ki pi frape pa ensekirite ak kriz imanitè Ayiti an. Me Merveille pataje konklizyon li yo sou dwa a idantite sivil – yon pòtay a lòt dwa fondamantal – ak aksè a anrejistreman sivil nan seksyon riral Ayiti. Travay Me Germain te konsantre sou echèk gouvènman an pou pwoteje dwa a edikasyon ann Ayiti, ki afekte tifi nan yon fason disproporsyonel. Me Cajuste te pale de kondisyon grav nan sistèm swen sante Pòtoprens ak enpak sou rezidan yo, sitou fanm ak tifi.
Yon tèm santral nan diskisyon an te konsène kòman fanm sa yo ap kraze inegalite sèks nan sosyete Ayiti a, ki anpeche fanm nan anpil wòl piblik epi ekspoze yo a vyolans; ak demantèlman baryè sistemik ki pi espesifik nan angajman fanm yo nan pwofesyon legal la. “Nou nan BAI – fanm k ap defann dwa fanm ak tifi ki viktim vyòl oswa vyolans konjigal – chak jou ap fè fas ak sinik ak sèksism nan men gason nan sistèm lan,” obsève Me Derolian. Li te ajoute: “[B]atay la k ap fèt ansanm ak BAI pou fanm ak jèn fi ki viktim vyolans – sa montre jan li enpòtan pou nou pa sispann. . . malgre tout baryè yo. . . . Se yon poto pou nou kontinye goumen.” Defansè sa yo pèsiste e domine non sèlman nan sipòte dirèkteman fanm ak tifi ki konfwonte ak vyolasyon dwa moun, men tou nan kraze sistèm ki inegal ak k ap opresye.
Gen anpil rezon pou dezespwa an Ayiti jodi a. Men, pwogram fòmasyon legal BAI a, ki fèt pou kiltive pwochen jenerasyon avoka dwa moun ak kraze baryè nan pwofesyon legal la, se youn nan anpil egzanp Ayisyen k ap konstwi yon fondasyon pou yon peyi ki pi estab, ekitab e k ap pwospere. Tout sis patisipan yo te pase nan pwogram fòmasyon legal BAI a, ki sipòte moun ki soti nan orijin majinalize nan chemen yo pou yo vin avoka. “Mwen te konnen ke mwen te oblije pouse pi devan epi ale pi lwen, men pou m fè sa, mwen dwe nan yon pozisyon kote mwen ka aktyèlman pran etap ke mwen te vle fè,” te di Me César. BAI te ofri l sipò li te bezwen pou l pran etap sa yo, menm jan l ap fè pou anpil lòt atravè edikasyon kominotè ak sipò pou defansè endividyèl yo.
Finissantes yo te konplete tèz yo nan kondisyon eksepsyonèlman difisil – vyolans zam ak peryòd fèmen pòt te anpeche tout kat fanm yo vin travay nan plizyè okazyon e prèske anpeche youn antre yo a patisipe nan webinar lan. Reyalizasyon yo se rezilta pèseverans pèsonèl etonan, ansanm ak pèseverans kòlèg BAI yo. Fanm sa yo kounye a pare pou avanse dwa moun pou dè dekad.
Ou ka ede finissantes yo ak rès ekip BAI a kontinye batay sa. Men anpil, chay pa lou. Nou espere ou pral konsidere bay yon koutmen pou sipòte travay kritik finissantes yo epi ede BAI kontinye goumen pou dwa fanm, tifi, ak tout ayisyen.
Nou rekonesan anvè Respond Crisis Translation, yon patnè enpòtan de IJDH nan efò nou pou ankouraje jistis langaj, ki te sipòte entèpretasyon similtane ant kreyòl ayisyen ak angle, pou angajman yo genyen anvè jistis lang epi sipòte aksè pou piblikasyon enpòtan ak evènman enpòtan tankou sa a.