BY CORRESPONDENT
The concession was reached by lawyers from Zanzibar’s Ministry of Lands, Housing, Water and Energy over the weekend during a workshop conducted by Tanzania Media Women Association (TAMWA) and Gender Equality and Women Empowerment Programme (GEWEP) sponsored by Tanzania Care.
The workshop brought together stakeholders from various sectors with key participation of women was geared at creating awareness on land issues as a significant milestone in curbing violence against women.
According to a lawyer from the ministry, Salha Ali Mohamed, majority of women in Zanzibar, lack awareness of land matters and are denied their due land ownership rights especially after losing their husbands.
“Majority of women are unable to fight for their right to own and use land… the many land laws are not fully implemented and leading to low awareness among the society especially women,” she noted.
She explained that while on paper, men and women have equal rights to land, however on the ground, there is a big gap of ownership of land between men and women, she said.
Another lawyer from the Department of Land and Registration, Hassan Nassoro reiterated government’s commitment to increase the number of magistrates and judges to deal with land issues.
Tanzania Care Programme Coordinator Pamela Rwezaura called upon the Ministry for Lands, Housing, Water to establish a special desk to deal with land cases facing women.
She said the government has a big role to play in addressing the country’s land problems citing land disputes increasing across the country including Zanzibar.
The lawyers also highlighted the fact that other than the lack of awareness, the challenge of land ownership among Tanzanian women in has its roots both in traditional and religious arenas that were male dominated.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
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