Gender & Justice

Traditional Dispute Mechanism

jirga Traditional dispute management, often referred to as informal judicial processes, are widely used in local communities of Afghanistan to solve domestic, as well as communal issues that arise.

These include jirgas, or meetings of local elders and respected members of the community, whereby disputes such as land ownership, inheritance and domestic issues are discussed and solutions are implemented.

The Project

UNIFEM's Traditional Dispute Mechanisms project is based on field research on the impact of customary law on women and girls, and the need to address traditional dispute management in Afghanistan within the formal government justice sector.

The Traditional Dispute Mechanism project was developed and carried out in 2006 in partnership with the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission and the Women and Children Legal Research Foundation (WCLRF). A final report on the project's findings will be available in early 2008.

An international-level conference is also planned for the first quarter of 2008 in order to encourage countries with similar traditional dispute mechanisms to share their experiences.

All Programmes

unifem UNIFEM is the women’s fund at the United Nations. It provides financial and technical assistance to innovative programmes and strategies that promote women's human rights, political participation and economic security worldwide.
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