Forum for Activists Against HIV/AIDS Scourge (FAAS), yesterday embarked on the first phase training of women to form a core group of community paralegals to address HIV/AIDS rights.

In an interview with The New Times, Frank Asiimwe, CEO of FAAS-Rwanda, said that the training will give participants an opportunity to deal with legal issues in their communities.

"Our aim is to train women and girls to be paralegals and take cases of people living with and or affected by HIV/AIDS,” he said.

Asiimwe added that the participants will also be sensitised on the importance of the East African Community (EAC) bill on the prevention and management of HIV/AIDS and other regional pronouncements on HIV and criminal justice.

"This will help them own the bill and use it in HIV/AIDS scourge response”

During the training, there will be a brief evaluation of the participant’s knowledge on Family law, law of inheritance, land law and the Gender Based Violence (GBV) law.

Marie Josée Mukandekezi of the National Women Council (NWC), said that the training will enable her to know more about the rights-based approaches to HIV/AIDS and gender mainstreaming, property rights, conflict management and mediation.

"I am very pleased to be part of this (training forum) because I will be able to impart the knowledge to others in my community” she said.

The three-day forum brought together 50 participants from 30 districts countrywide drawn from National Women Council (NWC) and the network of people living with HIV/AIDS in Rwanda.

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