ZLSC to provide legal aid to over 500 women in Zanzibar

ZANZIBAR: IN fostering women’s access to justice, the Zanzibar Legal Services Centre (ZLSC) is providing legal aid services, aiming to benefit more than 500 women across Unguja and Pemba islands.

ZLSC Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ms Felista Mauya, said that the legal aid is being provided to the people mainly in rural areas, under the ‘Sustainable Legal Aid and Strengthening Economic Rights for Women Project.

“Baseline surveys have indicated many women still face barriers in accessing justice. One of the challenges is financial inability to hire a lawyer in search for justice,” Ms Mauya said while taking part in providing legal aid to women in Mkokotoni, Unguja North region.

In addition, she said survey and analysis show that many women need legal help and areas identified as most in-need of the support include Unguja North, Unguja South and Chake Chake and Wete in Pemba.

“With this background, we have decided to come up with this project, aiming at reaching women who are unable to find lawyers, because of financial constraints and lack time due to family responsibilities,” said the CEO.

She argued that it is important to look at women in a unique way, due to their small number visiting the centre. In the period from September to November 13, 2024, the cases received at the centre were 663 of which 276 were women and 387 men.

She said that ZLSC’s expectation is to increase the number of women to understand legal procedures and how to find legal services in their respective places.

Ms Subira Haji Khamis, a resident of Mkokotoni who is a mother of five children, said that she has been abandoned with her children by husband after divorce and that her expectation is to get legal aid that will force her former husband to care for the children. “Sometimes I get confused, I don’t know where to get food to give my children.

Their father is there but he doesn’t provide any help. I hope with legal aid, which I didn’t know before, will help me get justice,” she lamented.

Ms Khamis asked the law enforcement agencies to have a sustainable programme to help women who are abandoned by their husbands and families after divorce or death of a spouse, so that children get their basic rights of being cared for.

She also urged her fellow women who are going through family challenges to explain their problems to the law enforcement agencies and human rights defenders such as ZLSC so that they can get legal help.

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Ms Khadia Ali Makame, a paralegal in Mkokotoni said that her place is among the areas in the country with many women lacking access to justice in various fields such as property disputes including land rights after divorce.

Advocate in Zanzibar high court, Benny Louis Mlingi said many of the citizens he served in the North Unguja region have family challenges including male parents abandoning their families.

He said they will cooperate with the respective bodies responsible for social protection and peoples’ rights such as district councils, municipalities and law enforcement agencies to ensure there is justice for abandoned families.

The six-month project is implemented by the Zanzibar Legal Services Centre (ZLSC) with support from Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI)