Civil society has emerged as an important catalyst of change in the development and democraticrnprocesses, making tremendous contributions in developing countries where abject poverty stillrndominates the livelihood of the people; democratic values and system of governance are yet inrntheir infancy. With this in mind, the Government of Ethiopia has recently come up with thernCharities and Societies Proclamation (CSP) to aid and facilitate the role of Charities andrnSocieties in Ethiopia. Therefore, the main objective of this thesis is to assess the impact of thernCSP on Women and Children Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Addis Ababa.rnTo achieve the objectives of this thesis, the research method used was descriptive case study.rnThrough the use of primary and secondary data sources, the researcher has gathered thernnecessary information regarding the impact of the proclamation. By employing purposivernsampling technique those Charities and Societies working for women and children in AddisrnAbaba were purposively selected in consultation with the Network of Ethiopian Womenâ€™srnAssociation (NEWA) and the Union of Ethiopian Women Charitable Association (UEWCA).rnSemi-structured interviews were carried out with the selected eight Charities and Societies. Inrnaddition, structured interviews of key informants were carried out with three donorrnorganizations and with the Charities and Societies Agency. Information obtained from thesernsources was then analyzed qualitatively based on descriptive analysis.rnAs the findings show, the proclamation has brought about new demands on the way these womenrnand children Charities and Societies operate be it in terms of financial, existential, sustainabilityrnor structural change. Though the proclamation creates an autonomous Agency for the CSOrnsector, allows income generation activities, and tries to curb harmful practices by Charities andrnSocieties; it has strict funding source requirements, potential going out of operation ofrnorganizations and termination of employees. The study reveals that the Ethiopian Charities andrnSocieties are most affected by the proclamation. A great challenge for them has been raisingrn90% of their funds locally; which has led to termination of activities, closure of organizationsrnand termination of employment of staff. The absence of a tradition of giving financial support tornhuman rights organizations, and the lack of the necessary skill and experience in generatingrnfunds from local sources are currently challenging the Charities and Societies