TMT Access to justice: Female Judiciary Training in Bahrain and Kuwait

In Arabic, shiraka means partnership. With the Shiraka programme, the Netherlands supports societal development in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The main focus is social contracts between the government and citizens. Shiraka focuses on the involvement of civilians in governance and governments’ service delivery for citizens.

The overall objective of this programme is to contribute to the sustainable development goals (SDGs), specifically SDG 5 (“Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”), SDG 10 (“Reduce inequality within and among countries”) and SDG 16 (“Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”). Additionally, it contributes to the multi-annual plan of the Dutch embassy in Kuwait to promote The Hague as the justice capital of the world and to build a network with the female judiciary.

The specific objectives of this programme are:

• To strengthen participants’ ties with the Netherlands and the Dutch government.

• To improve the knowledge, skills, networks and capabilities of women working in the justice sector in Kuwait and Bahrain by sharing knowledge, experiences and expertise on various judicial and leadership topics.

• To have a positive impact on women’s abilities and efficiency at work and to increase the capacity to create opportunities for women to join the judiciary in the future.