AWLA was established in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1997 by a group of visionary African women lawyers led by Betty Mould-Iddrisu, a Ghanaian who became its pioneer president. AWLA was birthed in response to the peculiar challenges the African child and women face, which are different from those of other races.
In Africa, we still have cases of child marriage, female genital mutilation, harmful traditional widowhood practices, children out of school, female inheritance challenges, patriarchy, etc., which are not the same globally.
The association runs a rotational system of presidency with a Nigerian, Awlan Mandy Asagba, as the current International President. A new election of a new president will be held later in the year in Ghana during the international conference. The current country representative of the Nigerian chapter is the deputy chief registrar of the Court of Appeal, Ilorin Division, by name, Awlan Oluwatoyin Falilat Orire, who was a former coordinator for Kwara (AWLA) and the immediate past national treasurer for AWLA (Nigerian Chapter).