Vice-President Samia Suluhu Hassan has advised all female Judges across the country to fight against corruption, gender violence and sexual corruption so that women could fairly get their rights without being discriminated upon in the society.
The VP gave the advice when she was opening the eighth Tanzania Women Judges Association (TAWJA) meeting in Dar es Salaam. She said that some officials in both government and private institutions have been involved in sexual corruption acts and that judges should help to stop the bad practice.
“This is a bad behaviour. We must work together and do everything in our p o w e r to end it once and for all,” she said. The VP expressed her commitment in ensuring that women and children gain access to justice and freedom from all forms of discrimination and violence.
Ms Hassan has also cautioned those that abuse authority to extort sex from women especially in the delivery of justice to stop immediately. “As a woman and one of top leaders in this country, I would like to see positive change in this area. I am committed to supporting this struggle,” she said.
Ms Hassan said sexual harassment has continued to haunt women, a sad situation that prevents some from achieving higher positions. She said it is disappointing to see capable women continuing to hold low positions in offices and on political arenas because of sexual based harassment.
She, however, noted that sexual extortion is among the biggest challenges in courts of law. Some cases have been dismissed on such grounds.
She added: “We all need to work towards the betterment of these women’s situation. Their hopes, ambitions and dreams have been shattered by a few malicious individuals.” The VP said sexual corruption has been an obstacle for women to get social services, employment and other opportunities including education.
TAWJA Chairperson, Judge Iman Aboud, said the eighth Biennial Conference theme is ‘Leading the Way in Meeting the Needs for timely and Accessible Justice’, which reflects the government slogan of ‘Hapa Kazi Tu’.
“The meeting aims at guiding us on how to go about the challenges and obtain achievements. We should come up with a way forward in implementing TAWJA’s objectives,” said Judge Aboud.
She pointed out that TAWJA has managed to conduct training for judicial officers and law enforcers, MPs and students from various institutes such as the Institute of Judicial Administration in Lushoto and other students from universities, secondary and primary schools. On his part, Chief Justice (CJ), Mohammed Chande Othman, said Tanzania has made notable strides in pioneering for gender equality in some of its crucial roles.
He said female judges in the country comprises 47 per cent while 46 per cent of MPs in the country are women.
“The percentage for female High Court Judges alone stands at 47 per cent surpassing Kenya with 43.3 per cent and Uganda with only 37.3 per cent.
He added: “We share the Common Law with countries such as the United Kingdom, which comprises 15 per cent of female judges and India with only 9 per cent,” noted the CJ. Justice Othman applauded the efforts done by TAWJA in promoting justice and the legal profession in the country, saying his office will continue to give support to the organisation.