Law Students Participate in International Women’s Day Global Awareness Campaign

Law Students Participate in International Women’s Day Global Awareness Campaign

A group of second-year Human Rights students, and final-year Street Law students participated in the Together Empowering All Women (TEAW) campaign, an annual initiative that gathers Law students from all over the world in a volunteer awareness raising campaign.

The campaign is jointly co-ordinated by the Romanian American University and Galgotias University in India, alongside partners.

Since its inception in 2016, TEAW has provided students with an opportunity to engage in a multicultural environment, fostering cooperation and learning about women’s rights and the specific challenges in different regions.

The students were required to identify key issues for an awareness campaign or intervention, workshops or dialogues in their communities or within one of their campus or residence spaces – either a social media campaign, or actual event, posters, debate and present these to the other participating universities in an online conference during the third week of March.

Second-year student, Ms Amahle Shandu and final-year student Ms Nombuso Mkhosini mobilised a group of active Law students. Their campaign focused on body shaming as a violation of human rights, particularly in terms of the right to dignity and non-discrimination. Body shaming infringes on an individual’s right to be treated with respect and equality, and without discrimination.

The students created posters that they posted around campus, composed affirmations to help rebuild the self-esteem of those who suffer from being body shamed and designed information posters to educate people about body shaming and its effects on women.

Mkhosini and Shandu expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to be part of the initiative.

‘Interacting with students from different countries and cultures broadened my perspective and deepened my understanding of the diverse challenges women face globally. As a young woman, International Women’s Day holds significant meaning as a day to celebrate the achievements of women throughout history and to recognise the progress that has been made towards gender equality. It is also a time to reflect on the challenges that women still face around the world,’ said Mkhosini.

‘Through this campaign I gained knowledge about women’s rights, gender equality, empowerment strategies, leadership skills, community support, and ways to advocate for women’s issues. This will assist me in my journey as a legal student and aspiring legal practitioner,’ said Shandu.

Senior Lecturer at the School of Law, Dr Janine Hicks said, ‘I am very proud of this team for stepping up to participate in this global campaign raising awareness around International Women’s Day and persistent forms of gender discrimination and gender-based violence plaguing our society. It is wonderful to see commitment to social justice action in our young Law students, which is something the School encourages.’

The students will all receive certificates of participation and have an opportunity to apply for a scholarship to attend a summer school programme at the Romanian-American University in Bucharest.

Words: Lungile Ngubelanga

Photographs: Supplied