Originally Written: September 25, 2022. 10:15pm EST By Annica Pereira
The African Committee of Experts on Rights of Welfare of Children (ACERWC) held Tanzania guilty of violating fundamental rights of girls. Tanzania declared a policy that pregnant and married girls and women were to be removed from schools and were not allowed re-entry. The Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) and the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) filed a lawsuit against the Tanzania Republic demanding the change or removal of the policy. The policy also stated that girls were forced to take pregnancy tests before entering a school. This denied them of their privacy and was also embarrassing for many. Additionally, many of the girls lacked reproductive and sexual health information, as it was not provided in their schools.
The policy denied girls the right to education, the right to be free from cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, and violated their equality and non-discrimination rights, right to health services in school, dignity, and privacy rights, as well as protection from harmful social practices.
During the trial, the Center’s Head of Legal Strategies for Africa, Martin Onyango stated that, “Tanzania would be obligated to undertake legislative, administrative, and judicial measures to ensure that girls’ rights—including their entitlements to education, health, equality, privacy and dignity, freedom from cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment—are enforced and that violations are prevented. And other countries in the region with similar restrictive laws against women and girls’ rights may follow suit and consider changing their laws so they are less restrictive.”
As a result, ACERWC proposed that Tanzania government should stop mandatory pregnancy tests, allow pregnant and married women re-admission into schools, provide child-friendly reproductive health services, and prevent expulsion of married and pregnant girls and women.
These violations in other countries take into consideration the discrimination women and children can experience. Making people aware about these problems
allow others to work together and try to end and prevent future infractions.
Citations:
Sarthak Gupta | Institute of Law, Nirma U. “African Union Committee Holds Tanzania Guilty of Violating Fundamental Rights of Girls.” Jurist. - JURIST - News, September 17, 2022. https://www.jurist.org/news/2022/09/african-union-committee-holds-tanzania-guilty-of-violating-fundamental-rights-of-girls/.
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