Source: Tanzania Daily News
Moshi — THE Tanzania Women Research Foundation (TAWREF) has called on Constituent Assembly (CA) members to drum up support for, and ultimately endorse women rights in the new constitution.

TAWREF Executive Director, Ms Dafrosa Itemba, said that the main focus should be reproductive and general health rights for women as that is the very crux of human life.

"First of all the CA should make sure that the new constitution is gender focused so all other rights flow from there.

Our representatives in the House should ensure we have improved maternal and newborn health," she said, adding:

"We must have access to high quality family planning choices; eliminate unsafe abortion; reduce incidence of HIV and sexually transmitted infections; have greater awareness of sexual health and reduced risky behaviour, gender equality, rights, accountability and equity."

She said although sexual and reproductive health was important to everyone at all stages of one's life, yet far too many people were denied the right to sexual and reproductive health, particularly the vast majority of poor women, men and young people.

She said TAWREF would like to see women's rights entrenched in the new constitution, all repressive laws scrapped, including those which spur gender inequality.

The Executive Director said it was their wish that all international conventions adopted by the country were accommodated in the new constitution.

She cited some international agreements that were adopted with regard to gender and reproductive rights as the Abuja and Maputo conventions, but they were yet to be domesticated.

Ms Itemba said women needed to be assured of equal civil rights and leadership opportunities, adding that TAWREF was steadfast in seeing that the right of women to own land and other property and access to and enjoyment of social security were safeguarded.

She alerted CA members to unite so as to achieve the kind of constitution that will protect the interests of vulnerable groups such as the poor, those with disabilities and the elderly because everybody could be a prospective candidate to those situations in later days.

TAWREF is a national NGO which was formed in 2010 by a group of experienced researchers and community interventionists, whose engagement is to conduct evidence-based interventions informed by research with a view to transforming the lives of marginalized populations, particularly children, youths and women.

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