Chief Justice Mohamed Chande Othman has appealed to leaders of African countries to overhaul patriarchy, saying the system has been denying capable women being appointed as judges in the continent’s legal sector.
Chief Justice Chande Othman
Opening a two-day colloquium on women judges and the judiciary in Arusha, Judge Chande underscored the need for the system to be reformed so as to give enough room for women to play their roles in decision-making bodies.
The Chief Justice however stated that Tanzania was faring better in appointing women judges compared to other countries on the continent. According to Chande, so far it was only 27 per cent of women judges across the world but in the Tanzanian case, out of 65 judges 29 were women – which is equivalent to 44 per cent.
“Tanzania is ahead of many African countries when it comes to giving the chance for women holding top posts in decisionmaking bodies including courts,” CJ Chande said. He however pointed an accusing finger at the current social and cultural structures, saying: “These are the main cause of the patriarchy system in the continent, which doesn’t give equal rights between men and women.”
Justice Chande asked women judges to use such symposiums as platforms for them to fight against the patriarchy system. “Women judges are in a better position to fight against social and cultural structures that abuse women’s rights across the region. They can also assist other women who have been affected by the system in the legal organs.”
President of the International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ), Justice Eusebia Munuo, decried the patriarchy system, saying it has been denying women being appointed as judges across the continent. She urged African countries to change the system, especially when it comes to appointing judges and other justice dispensing units.
Munuo said the current system doesn’t give room for more capable women to perform their duties in their respective areas. She disclosed that there were no true commitments in different African countries of appointing women in organs established to dispense justice.
“Right now there are many women who are capable of executing cases, but they are not given opportunities to exercise what they have,” she said, calling on African nations to change their mindsets and give the chance to women who can be judges. “There is no fair play here. Our countries don’t provide equal opportunities despite the fact that all of us are human beings.
All this is caused by the existence of the patriarchy system,” she said. The forum has been organized by the International Commission for Jurists in collaboration with the judiciary of Tanzania, IAWJ and the Tanzania Women Judges Association (TWAJ).
It attracted participants from Swaziland, South Africa, Lesotho, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Sierra-Leone and MozambiqueOthers came from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Uganda, Botswana, Mauritius and the host Tanzania. Women judges are meeting here to exhaustively discuss the position of women in the African legal perspective.
Source Tanzania Daily News
