**Date: December 4, 2015**

**Request for Proposal: Researcher**

The Center for Women’s Legal Researches, Counselling and Protection (CWLRCP) is seeking to contract a legal researcher to conduct research on “Women’s Right to Divorce.” This activity is part of the “Legal Protection for Women” project, implemented by the Center with funding from the Rule of Law Programme in the Occupied Palestinian Territory – Justice and Security for the Palestinian People (2014/2017) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP/PAPP). The project aims to contribute to the promotion of women’s rights and gender equality in the Gaza Strip.

**Study Terms of Reference:**

1. Justification:
   

   The number of young women lodging complaints with the legal counseling unit at the Center for Women’s Legal Researches, Counselling and Protection (CWLRCP) has increased. We have observed that the majority of these complaints relate to the suffering and injustice they face at the hands of their husbands, and the waste of their rights guaranteed by law. Women face difficulties obtaining a divorce for the reasons stipulated in the law through the courts in a way that guarantees their financial rights. This also applies to young women who are in the engagement period before the finalization of the marriage, which is officially considered a legal marriage with the same legal implications as a consummated marriage. Women’s suffering stems from the difficulty in obtaining a court decision for divorce, and the bias of the law in favor of husbands. After a long period of suffering, sometimes extending for years of suspension, women are often forced to waive all their financial rights in order for the husband to agree to a divorce in exchange for a release of obligations. The divorce rate in the Gaza Strip is 15.5% of the marriage rate (statistics from Sharia Courts) since 2010, while the percentage of young divorced women, especially before consummation, is 40% of the total divorce cases, a significant percentage in the Gaza Strip, which is experiencing tragic circumstances. Numerous studies have addressed violence against women, including legal violence. The Center for Women’s Legal Researches, Counselling and Protection (CWLRCP) pioneered the first study of its kind in the Gaza Strip on “The Reality and Needs of Divorced Women in the Gaza Strip” in 2009, and a study on the causes of divorce among young women, especially before consummation, and its impact on the lives of young divorced women in 2012, which resulted in launching a campaign to establish women’s right to request judicial divorce.

2. This Study:
   

   The Center for Women’s Legal Researches, Counselling and Protection (CWLRCP) is interested in conducting a study entitled “Women’s Right to Divorce,” which aims to examine women’s right to request a divorce and their right to obtain it whenever they wish, in accordance with the Personal Status Law, and to clarify the extent to which the procedures applied in the Sharia courts impede or facilitate women’s access to divorce, in order to enable the Center to contribute to the campaign against legal violence and discrimination against women and promote effective discussion and come up with results with decision-makers and relevant institutions.

3. Study Objectives:
   

   1. Identify divorce statistics in Sharia courts and statistics of divorce by court decision.
   2. Identify the factors affecting women’s right to divorce and any violations of this right.
   3. Contribute to suggesting necessary interventions based on the findings to decision-makers to enable women to obtain their right to terminate the marriage, similar to men, in accordance with the law.
   4. Present the study results to women’s and civil society organizations to encourage them to actively support the campaign for women’s rights equal to men’s rights, eliminate legal discrimination against them, and affirm their right to divorce.

4. Study Population:
   

   • The study sample is within the geographical boundaries of the Gaza Strip.
   • Women applying for divorce in Sharia courts.
   • Divorced women in the Gaza Strip, whether before or after consummation, preferably focusing on young women aged 15-36 years.

5. Timeframe: Five years, starting from the beginning of 2010 as a timeframe.
6. Research Methodology: The researcher is required to:
   

   • Follow a methodology of verification and auditing and use more than one research tool, both quantitative and qualitative, to answer the research questions.
   • Enhance the active participation of all parties related to the research issue.

7. Research Report:
   

   • The researcher is expected to submit a research report of a minimum of (60) pages in font size 12.
   • The research report includes the results of the statistical analysis and the researcher’s analysis.

8. Researcher’s Tasks:
   

   1. Train the research team on data collection tools.
   2. Train the research team on filling out the form, if any, in a way that ensures the integrity of the results.
   3. Submit the research report no later than March 30, 2016.
   4. Provide all relevant documents and documents related to the research.
   5. Keep the Center informed of the steps of implementing the research first and foremost.
   6. The researcher is responsible for any inquiries from the Center regarding the research.
   7. Provide a summary of the research in Arabic and English.
   8. Present the research results in a workshop dedicated by the Center for this purpose.
   9. Printing the research report is the responsibility of the Center.

9. Application Requirements: The researcher submitting the proposal must:
   

   1. Hold a bachelor’s degree as a minimum in one of the humanities, preferably law.
   2. Submit a curriculum vitae detailing previous experience in research work skills.
   3. Submit a detailed research plan proposal.
   4. Submit a detailed financial offer that includes the costs of completing the research in full, excluding printing.
   5. Submit the offer in a sealed envelope to the headquarters of the Center for Women’s Legal Researches, Counselling and Protection (CWLRCP) no later than Sunday, December 20, 2015.