What We Do.
Mission, Vision, etc.
Mission: Our organization's mission is "to promote the status of the marginalized groups in Karagwe by creating and strengthening equal opportunities to women, men and children through provision of socioeconomic, legal and human rights activities in order to attain sustainable development."
Vision: Our organization's vision is “to create a just society which respects gender equality, humanity, and legal rights protection for all."
General Objectives: To promote women’s sexual and reproductive rights; to promote gender governance and development; to promote female and youth economic empowerment; to promote female and children’s legal rights; and to work in the areas of HIV/AIDS prevention awareness and support the victims of HIV/AIDS.
Our Purpose.
WOMEDA's main purpose is to provide free legal and educational services for women and children in northwest Tanzania.
WOMEDA's Services.
Human Rights Aid: Free legal and social counseling for victims of domestic disputes, sexual violence, and illegal property acquisition.
Community Education: Promoting gender equality through workshops on women's and children's rights, political leadership, and legal literacy.
Protecting Children: Ensuring the welfare of Karagwe's children by providing counseling services to families, and working with community members to ensure children's rights.
The Need.
Demographics: WOMEDA is only one of two free legal aid services for the over 224,000 children and 120,000 women in the Karagwe region of Tanzania.
Lack of Rights: Patriarchal customary laws are deeply rooted in traditional practices, creating a situation in which women struggle to hold property or assert independence.
Regional Misogyny: Many traditional attitudes continue to disempower and even violently hurt women. One such practice is called Kushatula, through which a woman is abducted out of her home, raped, then forced to marry the abductor, continues to occur in the region.