African Court Concerned with Tanzanian Media's Advancement of Women

Gender equality in the media is a goal of the African Court on Human and People's Rights (AfCHPR), according to the court. The senior editorial positions in the local media were not gender-responsive, which was regrettable according to the continental judicial body located in Arusha.

According to Judge Imani Aboud, president of the AfCHPR, "Women should get higher posts because they have capability as their male counterparts."

At the conclusion of a training session for female journalists, which was put on by the Media Council of Tanzania (MCT), she made the request earlier this week.

Former High Court of Tanzania judge Lady Justice Aboud stated that an MCT study conducted in 2019 indicated certain disparities regarding women in media leadership.

Despite the fact that there were many of equally competent women who could fill these roles or duties, males nonetheless held the majority of high-ranking positions.

She hoped that some of the participants had gained the necessary leadership abilities for their different media organisations as a result of the training.

She urged them, however, to carry out their editing and other tasks professionally and diligently in order to produce better work.

"There is no need to be alarmed about men's predominance in major media jobs. Working hard without giving up, we can defeat this”, she said.

According to Kajubi Mukajanga, executive director of MCT, the training was provided as part of a project to improve the capacities of female journalists. He claims that 128 of them have already received leadership training at the media institutions up to this month.

Judge Aboud stated that AfCHPR will fight for the rights and economic empowerment of women when she spoke here at the International Women's Day event earlier this year.

She said that the moment had come for African women to be 'liberated' from all types of gender inequality and given more economic power.

"Discrimination starts with the girl child on to the young ladies and to women in general; whether they be in business or other undertakings," she stated. Ms. Aboud primarily cited the lack of access to education, lack of property ownership, and marginalisation from a young age as causes of poverty among African women.

According to her, women's rights for their part in development and family rearing are explicitly stated in the African Human Rights Conventions.