132
EMPOWERING WOMEN
rights is essential, as is promoting informal and formal networks, such as women’s cooperatives and professional associations. Improved access to justice is possible for women, but it rarely happens without networks, resources, and coordinated advocacy. Cases Cited Attorney General of the Republic of Botswana v. Unity Dow (1994), Case Report Court of Appeal (6) BCLR 1, pp. 326–27 Shilubana and Others v. Nwamitwa (2008), (CCT 03/07) (2008) ZACC 9; 2008 (9) BCLR 914 (CC); 2009 (2) SA 66 (CC), June 4
Notes 1. The lower monetary value of claims by women may be explained by women’s lack of confidence in pursuing claims other than family law actions such as child support (Rodríguez 2000). 2. Tanzania’s 1999 Village Land Act established village land councils, in which three of the seven council members had to be women. 3. Studies that substantiate these points include Ayuko and Chopra 2008; Cotula 2007; Das and Maru 2009, who analyze the shalish (informal community justice) system in Bangladesh; and Kane, Oloka-Onyango, and Tejan-Cole 2005. 4. Malaysia’s appointment of its first women Sharia court judges in 2010 could pave the way for more women. 5. BAWAKTA was a national Muslim organization that originated in a broad ethnic base in Tanzania.
References Ayuko, Bonita, and Tanja Chopra. 2008. “The Illusion of Inclusion: Women’s Access to Right in Northern Kenya.” Legal Resources Foundation Trust, Nairobi. Cotula, Lorenzo. 2007. Gender and Law: Women’s Rights in Agriculture (rev. 1). FAO Legislative Study 76, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome. Das, Maitreya, and Vivek Maru. 2009. Framing Local Conflict and Justice in Bangladesh. Policy Research Working Paper 5781, Sustainable Development Department, World Bank, Washington, DC. Dow, Justice Unity. 2001. “How the Global Informs the Local: The Botswana Citizenship Case.” Health Care for Women International 22 (4): 319–31. Ellis, Amanda, Claire Manuel, and Mark Blackden. 2006. Gender and Economic Growth in Uganda: Unleashing the Power of Women. p. 68. Washington, DC: World Bank. Fenrich, Jeanmarie, and Tracy E. Higgins. 2002. “Promise Unfulfilled: Law, Culture, and Women’s Inheritance Rights in Ghana.” Fordham International Law Journal 25: 259–341. Gauri, Varun. 2009. “How Do Local-Level Legal Institutions Promote Development?” Justice and Development Working Paper Series 6, World Bank, Washington, DC.