“I want to see a future where no woman is turned away from her rightful inheritance” Interview with Hon. Justice Imani Aboud, Judge of the High Court of Tanzania and African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights

Hon. Justice Imani Aboud wears two distinguished robes: serving as a Judge of the High Court of Tanzania and the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. She is also a member and former Chairperson of the Tanzania Women Judges Association. Her multiple roles provide a unique vantage point from which to observe both the promise and the persistent gaps within Africa’s justice systems, and to champion the advancement of women’s equal rights, opportunities, and participation in the judiciary.

Early in her career, she witnessed widows unjustly stripped of their family land, despite existing legal protections. These experiences fueled her commitment to advocating for women's land rights and confronting the structural barriers that undermine justice.

Addressing Inheritance Disputes and Sextortion

Inheritance disputes and property claims continue to pose persistent challenges for women in Tanzania and across Africa. Despite the existence of legal frameworks designed to safeguard women’s rights to land and property, entrenched cultural norms, discriminatory practices, and limited access to legal recourse continue to place women at a disadvantage. These barriers deprive women of economic security and autonomy, reinforcing cycles of poverty and deepening gender inequality.

According to the Judiciary of Tanzania’s Comprehensive Performance Report of the Judicial Functions 2023, the courts registered 19,161 new probate‑and‑administration cases last year and disposed of 19,622, making inheritance the single busiest category of civil litigation. When it comes to women’s land rights, however, most families still resolve succession conflicts informally through village councils or family elders, so only a fraction of disputes ever reach a courtroom.

Justice Aboud says those cases, alongside sextortion, are the most persistent gender‑based matters reaching her docket. “Inheritance and property cases often expose deeply rooted biases that deny women, particularly widows and daughters,” she notes, where widows are denied the right to inherit their late husband’s property, or daughters are deemed ineligible simply because they are women.

“Too often, relatives come in to seize assets, leaving the widow or children with nothing. This is a form of gender‑based violence that inflicts severe economic harm,” Justice Aboud stresses.

Another deeply entrenched form of gender-based violence, she explains, is sextortion - a coercive abuse of power that disproportionately affects women seeking employment, education, public services, or justice. “It is not only a violation of women’s rights,” she emphasizes, “but also a blatant form of corruption.”

The fear of stigma, the risk of retaliation, and the lack of explicit legal recognition all contribute to a pervasive silence around the issue, making it more difficult to report, investigate, and prosecute.

In an effort to address these issues, UN Women has partnered with the Tanzania Women Judges Association (TAWJA) for several years in both mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar. This collaboration has focused on delivering critical knowledge, building capacity, and providing tools for judges and magistrates, with the aim of enhancing women’s access to justice.

In 2021, UN Women and TAWJA published the first national Gender Bench book on Women’s Rights, a judicial resource designed to support gender-sensitive interpretation and application of the law. The Bench book serves as a practical guide for strengthening the protection and promotion of women’s rights within the judiciary, particularly in cases involving gender-based violence, property rights, and family law.

One of TAWJA’s flagship initiatives, launched in partnership with UNIFEM (now UN Women), was bringing the issue of sextortion into the national spotlight.

“Today, sextortion is firmly recognized across Tanzania as both a form of corruption and gender-based violence, a testament to what collective advocacy can achieve,” says Justice Aboud.

Advancing Gender-Responsive Judicial Reforms

Calling for a systematic review and amendment of family and inheritance laws to eliminate discriminatory provisions and align statutes with constitutional guarantees of equality, Justice Aboud emphasizes that real change must begin within the judiciary itself. “We must ensure that the concerns of women and marginalized groups remain central to the judicial system,” she asserts.

“As the ultimate guardian of constitutional promises, the judiciary stands at the front line of women’s rights,” Justice Aboud affirms. “By interpreting domestic law through the lens of international standards such as CEDAW and the Maputo Protocol, judges transform abstract guarantees into tangible remedies. Whether restoring a widow’s land, safeguarding a survivor of gender‑based violence, or striking down discriminatory statutes, each ruling signals that equality before the law is an enforceable right.”

Yet, she cautions, rulings alone are not enough—systemic change must start within the courts. “Gender-sensitive training helps judicial officers recognize and address hidden biases,” she notes.

Justice Aboud further advocates for dedicated GBV courts with specially trained staff to ensure survivors receive the support they need. “When survivors are forced to repeat their testimony, the system itself can become a source of further harm.” Fast-track procedures, she adds, can reduce traumatization and help deliver timely, evidence-based verdicts.

But efficiency alone is not enough. Justice Aboud also advocates for robust, publicly funded legal aid schemes to ensure that women without the means to hire a lawyer can still access justice on an equal footing. “Rights mean little if the most vulnerable cannot afford to claim them,” she says. By pairing specialized courts with expanded legal aid, she believes Tanzania’s justice system can make significant strides, ensuring that the dispensation of justice is both swifter and genuinely accessible to every woman and girl.