Eva Abu Halaweh (
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
: إيفا أبو حلاوة born in 1975) is a lawyer and human rights activist in
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
, and was awarded the
International Women of Courage Award
The International Women of Courage Award, also referred to as the U.S. Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award, is an American award presented annually by the United States Department of State to women around the world who have ...
presented by the
US Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other ...
in 2011.
She has a Bachelor's degree specializing in Law, a Master's degree in Diplomacy and a Master's degree in Political Science.
Biography
From her first day at school, her father asked her to study hard in order to become a doctor. She was not against the idea at first, but as the days and years passed, students were offered a range of professions, and lawyers and judges were one of them. Eva liked the idea, she said, "As I remember, In my community there are no female judges or lawyers, but I can't discuss this with my family.”
In her family and in the Palestinian refugee community in general, the medical profession was considered the best, and those who studied it had achieved the supreme goal. Engineering was somewhat acceptable, while the legal profession occupied the lowest degree of acceptance. Although enrolling in law school would bring her a lot of trouble and rejection, she did not stop, and she listened to her heart and continued to pursue her ambition. In the same year that she finished high school, the local university opened the doors for applications to obtain a bachelor’s degree in law, and as expected, Eva submitted an application and was accepted, and on December 10, 1993, two years before her graduation, she met a famous female lawyer and human rights activist, and ever since that day Eva decided to work for human rights.
Her Achievements ever since:
* She became a co-founder and currently is the
Executive Director
Executive director is commonly the title of the chief executive officer of a non-profit organization, government agency or international organization.
The title is widely used in North American and European not-for-profit organizations, though ...
of the Mizan Law Group for Human Rights in
Amman
Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...
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* Previously Abu Halaweh ran a private practise and was employed by the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...
as a legal advisor.
* She has been a member of the
Arab Organisation for Human Rights since 1993.
* Abu Halaweh has campaigned and still campaigns against
honor killing
An honor killing (American English), honour killing (Commonwealth English), or shame killing is the murder of an individual, either an outsider or a member of a family, by someone seeking to protect what they see as the dignity and honor of t ...
s and for protecting women at risk and the vulnerable, and in eliminating torture and abuse in the Jordanian prison system and police stations.
* Won th
Franco-German awardfor Human Rights.
Mizan Legal Group
Mizan Legal Group for Human Rightswas founded in 1998 by a group of lawyers, one of whom is Eva Abu Halawa.
Before establishing Mizan, many people who were victims of human rights violations presented their problems for free. And as Eva said: "We discovered that the problem was greater than the need to present cases for free, the problem was in the laws themselves that did not protect human rights, so we had to campaign to change these laws." At first, Mizan Group focused on the protection of human rights in general, but after a period of time the lawyers began to build expertise and focus on a specific group of people.
including: juveniles, orphans, refugees and others.
References
External links
US Department of State website Mizan Law Group
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abu Halaweh, Eva
1975 births
Living people
21st-century Jordanian lawyers
Jordanian women activists
Jordanian human rights activists
Recipients of the International Women of Courage Award
Jordanian women lawyers
21st-century women lawyers