Hon. Mary Nagu, Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs; and Hon. Sophia Simba, Minister for Gender, Children’s Affairs and Community Development mentioned that the last session of Parliament (which sat on 1st February 2007) had approved the ratification of the AU Protocol on the Rights of Women instrument.

At a meeting for the Advisory consultative Committee on International Human Rights obligations, the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs shared on the most recent treaties they had ratified and reiterated their commitment to also ratify the African Union Protocol on the Rights of Women.

Akina Mama wa Afrika commissioned a filming company in November 2006 to create a documentary on the Protocol. The documentary seeks to highlight the views of rural and grassroots women on the contents of the Protocol and give them an opportunity to share and deliberate on its contents. The documentary once completed will be used as an advocacy tool to popularize the Protocol in Uganda.

Despite the low numbers of women in parliament, their presence has had a modest impact on debates in Tanzania. Women MPs have been able to push for laws that address women’s needs in several areas: Maternity leave, the sexual offence bill on increasing the severity of the punishment of sexual offenders; and the land reform incorporation of a clause that declared unconstitutional customary practices that discriminated against women.