Senior Sharia Law Specialist - 2 Positions (one National and one International)

Consultant Human Rights

Overview

Provide expert advice on women's rights and Sharia law.

You have:

• Master's degree or equivalent in Sharia law, law, gender/women's studies, international relations, or a related field is required.
• At least 10 years progressively responsible experience in Sharia law with significant experience in women's rights.
• Fluency in oral and written English is required.
• Knowledge of either Dari and/or Pashto and Arabic would be an advantage.
• Particular experience of working in/on Afghanistan or on the Taliban will be an advantage.

Contract

This is a International Consultant contract. More about International Consultant contracts.

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 has been working in Afghanistan since 2002 (as UNIFEM until 2010).

The Taliban takeover on 15, August 2021 has had a seismic impact on the rights of Afghan women and girls. While the Taliban has provided assurances on women’s participation in humanitarian work and their right to study, work and marry under the Islamic Law[1] a series of restrictive measures is contributing to a rapid reversal the rights of women and girls. Women across the country report instances of increased levels of restrictive gender norms and practices, impacting their freedom of movement and expression, participation in public life and access to life-saving services, information, protection (including sexual and gender based violence and harmful practices), education, employment and livelihood opportunities. Impositions – such as the requirement for women to be accompanied by a close male relative if travelling distances greater than 72km[2] – have worsened current obstacles to women’s access to work, education and basic services. Further, the operational space for women’s civil society has been severely affected. Many women leaders fled the country fearing reprisals for dedicating their lives to gender equality. Women protesters and human rights defenders have been threatened, abducted, disappeared, detained, killed and subjected to other forms of reprisals.

On 3 December 2021, the Taliban issued a “special decree on women’s rights” which upholds women’s right to consent to marriage and instructing the de facto Supreme Court to adjudicate cases involving women. It also stated that women have a share in their husband’s property. They have also announced the reopening of schools and universities for all girls and women by 21 March 2022[3].

Given the current context in Afghanistan, there is a need for expert advice to guide and support UN Women’s work on Sharia law and women’s rights to effectively promote women’s rights in Afghanistan. Such guidance will be essential to identify strategic and practical entry point in engaging with a key stakeholders to advance the full spectrum of women’s rights, within the framework of Islamic jurisprudence.

[1] The Guardian. 2021. “Women can continue working in Afghan government, say Taliban.” The Guardian, News, 1 September 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/01/women-can-continue-working-in-afghan-government-say-taliban.

[2] Agence France-Presse. 2021. “No long-distance travel for women without male relative: Taliban.” Al Jazeera, News, Women’s Rights, 26 December 2021. Available at: ttps://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/26/afghanistan-long-distance-travel-women-without-male-escort-taliban.

[3] Al Jazeera and News Agencies. 2022. “Taliban says all Afghan girls will be back in school by March.” Al Jazeera, News, Women’s Rights, 17 January 2022. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/1/17/taliban-says-will-open-all-schools-for-girls-across-country.

Duties and Responsibilities

Reporting to the Deputy Country Representative, the consultants will provide:

Expert advice and technical support on full spectrum of women’s rights and Sharia law

• Advise UN Women on Sharia law related issues and conduct rapid analysis on Sharia law and women’s rights to inform strategic engagement of UN Women;
• Develop think pieces, policy briefs and other documents – for internal and external audiences –to prompt critical discussions related to Sharia law and women’s rights
• Provide strategic advice on engagement opportunities with various actors and identify entry points with regards to Sharia law and women’s rights;
• Support the drafting and development of evidence-based lines of argumentation, key messages, recommendations in the area of Sharia law and women’s rights, bringing in comparative international good practices;
• Design and facilitate high-level meetings/workshops/consultations/focus group discussions with women leaders and experts related to Sharia law and women’s rights;
• Provide training sessions on Sharia law and women’s rights, including on SGBV legal frameworks and justice mechanisms under Sharia Law;
• Technical support for the development of recommendations and tools to guide the role of religious organizations, leaders and customary mechanism to transform harmful social norms and practices related to women’s rights and gender equality, including SGBV;
• Other advice and analysis, as needed, to support the UN Women Afghanistan country office in the area of Sharia law and women’s rights.

Timeline: The duration of this assignment will be maximum of 100 days over a period of 12 months (April 2022 –March 2023).

Deliverables:

Provide analysis and expert advice on Sharia law and women’s rights

Provide analysis and expert advice on Sharia law and the full spectrum of women’s rights (e.g sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), women’s participation in public life, employment, mobility) to guide and support UN Women’s work in that area.

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

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 Core Values and Competencies: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Functional Competencies

• Strong knowledge of and expertise on Sharia law and women’s rights and policy analysis experience;
• Demonstrated ability to provide strategic advice on Sharia law issues;
• Strong analytical and writing skills;
• Strong organization skills and ability to pay close attention to detail;
• Strong communication skills and ability to communicate with various stakeholders and to express concisely and clearly ideas and concepts;
• Outstanding partnership skills, particularly with civil society and bilateral and multi-stakeholder partners;
• Ability to work independently and deliver on tight timelines.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Sharia law, law, gender/women's studies, international relations, or a related field is required.

Experience:

• At least 10 years progressively responsible experience in Sharia law with significant experience in women’s rights.
• Particular experience of working in/on Afghanistan or on the Taliban will be an advantage.
• Experience on thematic areas such as women, peace and security, prevention of sexual and gender-based violence and harmful practices is an asset.
• Substantive experience in conducting research and writing for different audiences on Sharia law and women’s rights.
• Demonstrated publication record on issues including Sharia law and women’s rights.
• Experience in designing processes to bring diverse women leaders together to influence international policy processes.
• Experience working with the UN and multilateral organizations in conflict and post-conflict contexts is an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in oral and written English is required.
• Knowledge of either Dari and/or Pashto and Arabic would be an advantage.

Evaluation Criteria:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology: Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for the financial evaluation.

Criteria Weight Technical: 70% (70 points)

• Criteria 1: Education (5 points)
• Criteria 2: Experience (55 points)
• Criteria 3: Language (10 points)

Financial: Lowest Financial Proposal: 30% (30 points)

The points for the Financial Proposal will be allocated as per the following formula:

• Contract will be awarded to the technically qualified consultant who obtains the highest combined score (financial and technical);
• The points for the Financial Proposal will be allocated as per the following formula: (Lowest Bid Offered*)/ (Bid of the Consultant) x 30;
• 'Lowest Bid Offered' refers to the lowest price offered by Offerors scoring at least 49 points in the technical evaluation.

Application:

Interested Individual Consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

• A cover letter with a brief presentation of your consultancy explaining your suitability for the work and link to portfolio of work;
• UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment;
• Personal CV; and Financial proposal; Proposed inclusive daily rate.

The above-mentioned documents should be merged in a standalone file including all them, since the online application submission does only permit to upload one file per application. Incomplete submission can be a ground for disqualification.

Note:

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.

Inclusion Statement:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits employ, 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.)

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Added 4 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: jobs.undp.org