Africa-Press – Tanzania. VICE-PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan has called upon women lawyers to fight for women’s rights to create a society which respects gender equality and human rights.
Her message was conveyed by Constitutional and Legal Affairs Minister, Dr Mwigulu Nchemba, during the opening of the 10th general meeting of the Tanzania Women Judges Association (TAWJA) in Mwanza City on Thursday.
The meeting was attended by more than 200 participants from the Judiciary of Tanzania.
Dr Nchemba said the government respected the role of the judiciary and TAWJA in ensuring women were not discriminated against or denied of their basic rights.
He said the nation continued witnessing changes taking place in relation to gender equality in the country, including equal gender representation in the judiciary.
Chief Justice (CJ), Prof Ibrahim Juma commended TAWJA for advocating the rights of women to end all forms of gender- based violence (GBV).
He further urged TAWJA to give recommendations to be incorporated in the five-year strategic plan (2020-2025) of the judiciary to achieve the objective of ending all forms of GBV in the country.
He asked women lawyers, magistrates and judges to provide data on gender issues because that would help speed up gender equality.
Citing recent changes in the judiciary, Prof Juma said nine out of 16 judges recently appointed to the Court of Appeal were males (56 per cent) and the remaining seven (44 per cent) were women.
TAWJA Deputy Chairperson Judge Fatuma Mahmoud noted that as they celebrated the 20th anniversary of TAWJA, they had recorded roaring success, some of which included raising awareness and GBV in society.
“The GBV affects women in terms of land ownership, inheritance rights and brutal punishment and other fundamental rights in society,” she noted.
UN Women Representative Julia Broussard said strengthening gender justice was paramount, urging stakeholders to jointly address GBV issues.
She congratulated the government on respecting gender equality in leadership.