74% of informal women traders have primary education or less limiting their opportunities, excluding them from the formal sector and making them distinctively disadvantaged and vulnerable. (EfG Study 2017)
We work towards the advancement of legal knowledge for those marginalized and engaged in business and trade. Legal empowerment promotes adherence and respect to the rule of law and encourage safeguard of their basic rights. Paralegal and Legal community supporters (LCS) are a role model in our cities in addressing prevailing inequalities.
When we first began to look at the situation of women in the informal sector we discovered that an alarmingly large number of women were unaware of their rights, laws and policies. We found that most women did not even know where to report abuses or violations they suffer or where to access legal services. For the few who appeared to know where to access such services, proximity of the services and associated financial costs were found to be major obstacles hindering access.
EfG has responded to this situation with the following:
- Developing a legal rights and economic empowerment manual
In 2013 EfG developed the first informal sector resource manual tool on taxation, licensing, and legal and economic rights. The manual aims to enhance legal education and improve business knowledge amongst market traders.
- Introducing mobile legal aid clinics to cater to informal markets
In improving women’s access to justice, EfG introduced mobile legal aid clinics to cater to market traders at market places. The clinics have enabled market traders to gain easier access to legal services, provided at the market level. There are legal officers in place who have been providing legal aid services at markets on a rotational and weekly basis. Over 7,168 market traders have benefited from free legal aid services provided through mobile legal aid clinics.
- Recruitment of paralegals for legal empowerment
EfG has successfully recruited and trained paralegals and legal community supporters (LCS) who now conduct awareness-raising sessions and provide legal aid to market traders. A total of 108 paralegals and LCS were empowered and are active throughout 4 regions of Tanzania mainland, namely Dar es Salaam, Mwanza, Mbeya and Lushoto Tanga. The trained paralegals and LCS will continue to provide legal aid within their respective communities upon completion of the project. This has positive implications on the sustainability of the project. Currently, LCS and paralegals provide legal advice to approximately 4,000 market traders.
- Support growth of paralegals groups
EfG is working to support the formalization of paralegal work by assisting with the registration process and finding paralegals opportunities to network with other service providers, with the aim of building relationships and working together, which will also help in achieving sustainability. So far three (3) paralegal centres in the Districts of Ilala in Dar es Salaam, and Bumbuli and Lushoto in Tanga have been established and registered.
