Intersectionality and Women's Access to Justice in Africa

by J. Jarpa Dawuni Howard University (Editor), Julia Sebutinde (Foreword by), Maame Efua Addadzi-Koom (Contribution by), Michael Addaney (Contribution by), Rebecca Emiene Badejogbin (Contribution by)

Overview

Intersectionality and Women's Access to Justice, edited by J. Jarpa Dawuni, propounds layered intersectionality as a paradigm for examining how gendered factors affect women's access to justice, whether as judges or litigants. Through intersectional and decolonial frameworks, the contributors analyze the lived experiences of women and their access to justice by situating the courtroom as both a spatial and a temporal arena for seeking justice (as litigants) and for seeking access to the bench (as judges). This book examines patterns of mutually reinforcing discriminatory practices that women share based on common gender identities and depending on which identities are at play at a given point in time in both traditional and statutory courts. The book provides recommendations for various justice sector providers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781793632685
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	10/17/2022
Series:	Gender and Sexuality in Africa and the Diaspora
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	446
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

J. Jarpa Dawuni is associate professor of political science at Howard University.

Table of Contents

Contents

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1: Layered Intersectionality and Framing Feminist Legal Discourse on Access to Justice for Women

J. Jarpa Dawuni

Part One: Women and Access to the Bench

Chapter 2: Status of Women Judges in Algeria: Achievements and Pathways for the Future

Samia Bourouba

Chapter 3: Opening the Door for Women in the Cape Verdean Judiciary

Justice Vera Duarte

Chapter 4: Women Judges in Ethiopia

Maame Efua Addadzi-Koom and Biruh Gemeda Gage

Chapter 5: Battle for Women in the Egyptian Judiciary: Reality, Laws, and Aspirations or a Dream Come True?

Omnia Taher Gadalla

Chapter 6: Making Gains for Women’s Rights: Using Gender Quotas to Achieve Gender Equality in the Composition of the Supreme Court of Kenya.

Annerita Murungi and Agnes Meroka-Mutua

Chapter 7: “Your Whole Life is an Interview to Get to the Bench:” Gender and Judicial Appointments in Malawi

Rachel Ellett

Chapter 8: Gender Transformation of the Judiciary in South Africa

Justice Constance Baratang Mocumie

Chapter 9: A Critical Assessment of the Status of Women Judicial Officers in Uganda

Josephine Ndagire

Part Two: Women and Access to the Courtroom

Chapter 10: Women’s property rights and discriminatory land tenure systems in Ghana: The adjudicative role of courts

Michael Addaney

Chapter 11: The making and unmaking of gender: Reflections on questions of gender and the judiciary in Namibia

Kennedy Kariseb

Chapter 12: Women and environmental justice issues in Nigeria: An evaluation

Eghosa Ekhator and Pedi Obani

Chapter 13: Contribution of the judiciary to the advancement and protection of women’s matrimonial and inheritance rights in Rwanda

Marie-Rose Turamwishimiye and Odette Uwineza

Part Three: Women and Access to Traditional Justice

Chapter 14: Gender and Customary justice among the Podoko of the Mandara mountains of the far north region of Cameroon

Jeremie Diye

Chapter 15: Juxtaposing the efficacy of testacy and intestacy to inheritance rights for Rukuba widows and children under Nigeria’s Plural Legal System

Rebecca Badejogbin andVickiLawal

Chapter 16: Transforming traditional justice through gender diversification: Comparing two South African communities

Sindiso Mnisi Weeks

Conclusion and Recommendations

Chapter 17: Intersectionality, access to justice and women’s experiences: Policy recommendations

J. Jarpa Dawuni and Stephen Muthoka Mutie

Index

About the Authors

Editorial Reviews

"A truly significant publication that engages with critical questions of how intersectional categories impede women’s access to justice in Africa. The book is timely, coming at a point when women in Africa are increasingly taking up leading positions in society and interacting extensively with the law, not only as litigants but also as members and leaders of the judiciary, an all-important institution. This work is a must-read for the judiciary, advocates for women’s access to justice, and the legal profession as a whole."

Yvonne Mokgoro

"This book sums up the impediments women face in accessing justice by cleverly adopting an intersectional approach that combines historical and empirical analyses to weave a narrative that is both compelling and theoretically grounded. In yet another novel research output, J. Jarpa Dawuni has crafted a masterpiece that contributes to our knowledge about women and law across Africa. By traversing different countries, legal systems and traditions, Intersectionality and Women’s Access to Justice in Africa is an important resource for lawyers, judicial officers, political leaders, policy makers, and women’s rights advocates. A useful resource for advocacy on women’s rights and women’s representation in law."

Florence N. M. Mumba

"This book explores women’s access to the justice system as judges and as litigants. This is a pioneering work that looks at women as insiders and as outsiders in the justice system. It shows that irrespective of their positionality as insiders or outsiders, women face intersecting challenges in their efforts to navigate and access justice systems. This book departs from the common essentialist portrayal of women as a monolithic group. It recognizes the fact women in any category and within each category, face intersecting layers of simultaneous privilege and discrimination. This is a rich, thoughtful, and diverse compendium of chapters examining a multiplicity of core issues at the center of gender equality and access to justice. It is an instructive and rich comparative study of gender in the justice system. This is an important and immensely valuable book."

Muna Ndulo