Widows’ eviction highlights need to abolish or amend Tanzania’s
discriminatory laws, UN experts say
GENEVA (1 April 2015) – Tanzania should take steps to revise
or repeal laws, customs and practices
that discriminate against women, a UN Committee has said after considering the
case of two widows who were prevented from inheriting their late husbands’
property and were left homeless.
The Geneva-based Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) issued its call after considering a complaint by the women,
who under local customary laws could not inherit upon their respective
husband’s death and were subsequently evicted from their homes by their
in-laws.
In 2005, the women, referred to as E.S and S.C, began legal
proceedings, arguing that inheritance provisions be struck down because they contravened
Tanzania’s Constitution and the country’s international obligations under the
Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, which it
ratified in 1985. They also argued that
millions of other women in Tanzania experience the same violations they have
faced as a result of discriminatory customary laws.
In 2006, the High Court agreed that the provisions were
discriminatory but said it would not overturn them as doing so would “be
opening a Pandora’s box, with all the seemingly discriminative customs from our
120 tribes plus following the same path”.
Customary law is in force in 30 districts, making it the
most commonly applied form of law in Tanzania. Regarding widows, it states that
she “has no share of the inheritance if the deceased left relatives of his
clan; her share is to be cared for by her children, just as she cared for
them.”
In its findings, the 23-member Committee said that Tanzania
should grant the two women adequate reparation and compensation, noting that
they had been left “economically vulnerable, with no property, no home to live
in with their children and no form of financial support.”
CEDAW called on Tanzania to ensure that rights guaranteed
under the Convention have precedence over inconsistent and discriminatory
provisions. The Committee noted that States parties have an obligation to adopt
measures to amend or abolish “not only existing laws and regulations, but also
customs and practices that constitute discrimination against women.
” This
includes countries such as Tanzania that have “multiple legal systems in which
different personal status laws apply to individuals on the basis of identity
factors such as ethnicity and religion”.
Courts should also refrain from resorting to unreasonable
and undue delays, CEDAW said, noting that shortcomings in the Tanzanian
judiciary had denied the women justice, with their appeal pending before the
Court of Appeal for more than six years.
Among several other recommendations, CEDAW called on
Tanzania to encourage dialogue on the removal of discriminatory law provisions
and provide mandatory training for judges, prosecutors and other judicial
personnel on the Convention and the Committee’s jurisprudence.
CEDAW said Tanzania should submit a written response within
six months, including information on any action taken in light of its
recommendations.
ENDS
*The Committee adopted its views on 2 March 2015 and
published them on 1 April 2015:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CEDAW/Pages/JurisprudenceSession60.aspx
For more information and media requests, please contact Liz
Throssell (+41 (0) 22 917 9466/ ethrossell@ohchr.org
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