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News from the Field: Women build jurisprudence on the ground to address AIDS in Tanzania

In Tanzania, UNDEF supports a ground-breaking partnership between women judges and a women's grassroot support network to develop the role of the judiciary in addressing HIV/AIDS.

"Jurisprudence on the Ground" brings together the Society for Women and AIDS in Africa-Tanzania, which provides educational and medical services to rural women, the International Association of Women Judges and the Tanzania Women Judges Association, which trains Tanzanian magistrates and judges on international, regional and domestic human rights laws protecting women against discrimination and violence. Judges and magistrates who have taken part in these trainings have established a track record of issuing judgments striking down discriminatory laws and practices, expanding the rights of women on issues ranging from economic discrimination, property rights, custody and inheritance to sexual assault and other violence against women.

The partnership was born at the 2006 session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, when the Society for Women and AIDS in Africa representative was struck by the relevance of a presentation by the International Association of Women Judges about women's legal rights on issues ranging from property and inheritance to domestic violence. As both organizations are networks of organizations, they decided to work together through their respective organizations in Tanzania. With UNDEF support, the partnership has held trainings for judges, first-line magistrates and aid workers in different parts of Tanzania. It has developed accessible and clearly written public education materials in English and Swahili about basic rights as well as information on what court to turn to, what to expect as a witness in court, and where to complain if a court officer asks for a bribe. Aid workers have taken the messages and materials to rural areas, using drama, music and community meetings to inform thousands of women about their rights and how to uphold them.

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