Legal Consultant to assess discriminatory Laws Affecting Women and Girls in Somalia

Background:

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

UN Women Somalia, through the Women and Legal Reform Fund (WLRF), seeks to support a comprehensive assessment of discriminatory laws and legal practices affecting women and girls in Somalia. The assessment will generate evidence to inform legal reform, gender-responsive governance, access to justice, and advocacy for equality before the law. 

Somalia operates within a plural legal environment in which statutory law, customary law (Xeer), and Sharia-based principles and practices may overlap. Women and girls encounter impediments to these systems in relation to family matters, inheritance claims, property disputes, access to justice and finances, land, violence against women and girls, compensation, custody, marriage, divorce and community-level dispute resolution. 

This consultancy will go beyond a conventional review of written law. It will examine legal texts, gaps in protection, implementation challenges, the interface between formal and informal justice systems, and practical reform opportunities affecting women and girls, while remaining sensitive to Somalia’s constitutional, religious, cultural and federal governance context. 

The consultant will report to the UN Women Somalia Country Programme Manager, with day-to-day coordination with the WPS and Rule of Law team. UN Women will provide strategic guidance, facilitate access to key documents where available, support stakeholder coordination as feasible, and review deliverables before acceptance. 

Overall Objective 

The overall objective of the consultancy is to conduct a comprehensive gender analysis of Somalia’s statutory, customary (Xeer), and Sharia-based legal frameworks to identify discriminatory laws, legal gaps and challenges, implementation barriers and reform opportunities affecting women and girls, and to provide evidence-based and practical recommendations for legal and policy reform. 

Specific Objectives 

• Map and analyse federal statutory laws, policies, regulations and relevant Federal Member State legal instruments that affect women’s and girls’ rights;
• Identify discriminatory provisions, gender-neutral provisions with discriminatory impacts, legal gaps, and implementation weaknesses;
• Examine how customary law (Xeer) practices affect women and girls, particularly in relation to meaningful participation in public life, marriage, divorce, inheritance, compensation, land, and property rights, violence against women and girls, and participation in dispute resolution;
• Examine Sharia-based legal principles and their application in areas affecting women and girls, including family relations, inheritance, guardianship, custody, maintenance and access to justice;
• Analyse interactions, contradictions and gaps among statutory, customary and Sharia-based frameworks and their implications for women’s legal equality and access to justice;
• Develop a prioritized legal reform roadmap and practical recommendations for government, parliament, justice institutions, religious and customary leaders, civil society and development partners including short-, medium-, and long-term actions. . 

Description of Responsibilities / Scope of Work 

Under the guidance of UN Women Somalia, the consultant will undertake the following responsibilities: 

• Prepare an inception report detailing the methodology, workplan, legal framework, stakeholder mapping, consultation tools, risk mitigation measures, and data protection approach;
• Conduct a desk review of constitutions, laws, regulations, policies, bills, prior assessments, relevant regional and international standards and available evidence on discriminatory laws and legal practices;
• Analyse statutory law, customary law (Xeer), and Sharia-based legal frameworks affecting women and girls, including areas of overlap, conflict, uncertainty and practical barriers to equality and access to justice;
• Conduct targeted consultations with relevant government institutions, parliament, justice actors, civil society, women’s organizations, religious and traditional leaders, legal professionals, academia, UN actors and development partners, subject to access, availability and security considerations;
• Prepare a legal mapping matrix and discriminatory laws matrix identifying provisions, gaps, impacts, applicable standards, responsible actors and priority reform action;
• Present draft findings for validation, document feedback, and revise the assessment report, matrix, and reform roadmap accordingly;
• Prepare an advocacy or policy brief summarizing priority reforms for government, parliament, civil society and development partners. 

Methodology 

The consultant shall apply a participatory, evidence-based, and rights-based methodology. The methodology should be sensitive to Somalia’s federal, cultural, religious and security context and should ensure meaningful participation of women, women-led organizations and relevant justice and legal reform stakeholders. 

• Desk review and legal mapping of statutory, customary and Sharia-related frameworks;
• Comparative standards of analysis against constitutional, regional, and international gender equality and human rights standards;
• Key informant interviews and targeted consultations with relevant institutions and stakeholders including women-led and women’s rights organizations; 
• Validation and consensus-building to review draft findings and refine reform recommendations; 
• Prioritization of reforms by urgency, feasibility, responsible institution, advocacy pathway, and expected contribution to gender equality and access to justice. 

Ethical and Do-No-Harm Considerations 

• Apply a survivor-centered and do-no-harm approach, particularly when discussing violence against women and girls, harmful practices, forced marriage or family disputes. 
• Protect confidentiality, anonymize personal information and avoid exposing participants to retaliation, stigma or community pressure. 
• Ensure consultations are conducted in safe, accessible, and gender-responsive spaces, with appropriate safeguards and informed consent procedures. 
• Avoid stigmatizing communities and focusing on legal reform, rights protection, accountability, and practical solutions. 

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

The consultancy is expected to be home based with travel to Mogadishu, and consultations at Federal Government and Federal Member State levels where feasible. Any official travel will be agreed in advance with UN Women and undertaken in line with UN Women rules, security requirements and procurement guidance. 

Competencies:

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework: 

Functional Competencies:

• Strong legal analysis and ability to translate complex legal issues into practical reform recommendations;
• Demonstrated understanding of gender equality, women’s empowerment, human rights, and access to justice;
• Strong understanding of Somalia’s statutory, customary, religious, political and federal governance context;
• Ability to engage diverse stakeholders and facilitate sensitive discussions constructively;
• High-quality analytical writing, facilitation and communication skills under UN Women style and quality expectations;
• Strong understanding of ethical research, confidentiality, data protection, and do-no-harm principles;
• Excellent analytical writing, facilitation, and communication skills;
• Strong understanding of Somalia’s legal, customary, religious, political and federal governance context 

Education and Certification:

• Advanced university degree in Law, Human Rights, Gender Studies, Islamic Law, Legal Reform, Public Policy or a related field is required. 
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. 

Experience:

• Minimum of 7 years of relevant professional experience in legal analysis, law reform, gender equality, access to justice, women’s rights, or human rights. 
• Experience conducting gender analysis of legislation, legal reform assessments, policy analysis, legal mapping or access-to-justice research. 
• Experience engaging government, parliament, judiciary, religious leaders, traditional leaders, civil society, women’s organizations and development partners. 
•  Experience with, the United Nations, rule of law programmes or gender-responsive governance initiatives will be an asset. 

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required;
• Somali language skills are highly desirable;
• Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable 

Statements :

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.