Masters Dissertation

TOWARDS A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO THE LEGAL AID SYSTEM IN ZIMBABWE: CHALLENGES INDIGENT WOMEN FACE IN INSTITUTING PROCEEDINGS AND ENFORCING JUDGMENTS IN CIVIL MATTERS

This research, carried out by a legal aid lawyer with the government’s Legal Aid Directorate, seeks to highlight the various challenges which are faced by indigent women as they access justice through the legal aid system. The main focus is on the Legal Aid Directorate as the main legal services provider since it is the […]
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STRENGTHENING THE EVIDENCE COLLECTION PROCESS IN RAPE CASES IN ZIMBABWE INVOLVING CHILDREN BELOW THE AGES OF 12 YEARS

This dissertation explores the evidence collection process for rape cases involving minors below the age of 12 years. The research was inspired by calls from advocacy groups which include women’s organizations to enforce mandatory sentences against sex offenders. Their argument is that mandatory sentences will act as a deterrent to future sex crimes and reduce […]
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TOGETHER IN REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RIGHTS: A POLICY AND STRATEGIES ANALYSIS ON MEN`S INVOLVEMENT IN PROMOTING WOMEN`S SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RIGHTS IN MALAWI

The writer of this dissertation asserts that concerted national campaigns to improve the reproductive and sexual health of Malawi’s women have failed to achieve their goal. This is because, in breach of binding regional and international HR instruments, these campaigns have excluded the participation of husbands who have a duty to share the protection and […]
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INITIATION CEREMONIES AND GIRLS’RIGHTS TO EDUCATION: A CASE STUDY OF THYOLO DISTRICT RURAL AREAS IN MALAWI

This study notes that the sexual abuse in the guise of harmful cultural practices that girls experience during mandatory puberty initiation camps and ceremonies in the rural areas of Thyolo District of Malawi leads to their dropping out of school. Since these camps groom them for pre-marital sex and early marriage, the girls emerge feeling […]
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A THIRD SEX IDENTITY: ASSESSING CULTURAL AND STRUCTURAL VIOLENCE AGAINST INTERSEX PEOPLE IN TANZANIA

This is a study involving intersex people and their lived realities in Tanzania. The study involved 18 interviews which targeted an intersex person, parents, a religious leader, governmental and non-governmental organisations. Respondents were classified according to their roles in the community and positions within their institutions. This paper aims at highlighting some of the impact […]
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THE THORNS BEHIND BLOOMING ROSES: THE IMPACT OF THE LAW ON THE WORKING CONDITIONS OF WOMEN ON FLOWER FARMS IN NAIVASHA, KENYA

The writer of this dissertation, a lawyer, studies the abuse of the rights of women who work in some of the largest floriculture farms in Naivasha, Kenya, a country which is the world’s second largest flower producer. Employing a combination of women-centred methodologies (especially the Women’s Law Approach), he collects and analyses data from various […]
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THE ROLE OF THE POLICE IN DEALING WITH VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT WITH SPECIFIC FOCUS ON RAPE CASES IN LUSAKA T OWN IN ZAMBIA: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF STRENGTHS, CONSTRAINTS AND CHALLENGES

Guided overall by the Women Law’s Approach, the writer of this dissertation, a Zambian police officer, uses a combination of methodologies and data collection methods to explain how the Zambian Police, who are supposed to protect rape victims, often do not act in their best interests and actually cause them harm, leading, sometimes, to their […]
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THE ROLE OF COMMUNITY TELECENTRES IN PROMOTING RURAL WOMEN FARMERS’ ACCESS TO AGRICULTURAL INFORMATION AND MARKETS: A CRITICAL EVELUATION OF CHINYUNYU COMMUNITY MULTIPURPOSE TELECENTRE (‘CCMT’) IN CHONGWE DISTRICT, ZAMBIA

The concept of community multipurpose telecentres is used by most developing countries, including Zambia, as a strategy to respond to the perpetual lack of access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the totally neglected or underserved rural communities which are home to a great majority of women. Access to and usage of ICT facilities […]
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THE ROLE OF CHIEFS’ COURTS IN WOMENS’ ACCESS TO JUSTICE: A CASE STUDY OF THE COURTS OF CHIEF MAKONI, CHIEF SEKE AND CHIEF CHIMOYO IN ZIMBABWE

The question posed by the lawyer who writes this dissertation on women’s access to justice is: How does Zimbabwe enhance the quality of justice administered by its informal local/traditional/customary Law Courts, whilst simultaneously taking heed of universally acknowledged human rights principles, including gender equality (which are more readily associated with the more formal of its […]
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