Tanzania LAWA Fellow 1996-1997 Maria Tungaraza L.L.B., University of Dar es Salaam L.L.M., Georgetown University Law Center Resident Advisor POLICY Project Tanzania P.O. Box 76724 Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Work Phone: 255-022-2136638 Email: mariat@raha.com

Affiliations: TAWLA

Profile:

Ms. Tungaraza is currently a consultant for the Tanzania Women Lawyers Association (TAWLA) on the effects of domestic laws on those with HIV/AIDS, a position she has held since 2000. In addition, she is the Resident Advisor for the Future’s Group International’s POLICY Project in Tanzania.

LAWA Experience:

Ms. Tungaraza’s graduate thesis, “Women’s Rights and the AIDS Epidemic in Tanzania,” examined customary sexual practices and HIV policy in Tanzania. She identified many customary sexual practices as contributing to the spread of AIDS and identified many laws and practices including: inheritance, bride price, division of matrimonial properties, and custody that perpetuate the practices that put women at risk of contracting AIDS.

For her fellowship internship, Ms. Tungaraza worked at the World Bank for three months doing research in three main areas: (1) examining customary sexual practices to identify best practices for AIDS prevention; (2) researching whether micro-credit for women and the resultant alleviation of their poverty can be a strategy for AIDS prevention; and (3) examining how governments could best invest in capacity building as a result of the loss of skilled population due to AIDS. She then transferred to UNAIDS in Geneva where she evaluated the Canadian AIDS Society’s Project on HIV Testing and Confidentiality and their report on Criminal Law and AIDS.

Other Work Experience:

Prior to LAWA, Ms. Tungaraza acted as Legal Advisor to the Legal Aid Programme Director (AIDS Programme), and for Comprehensive Community Based Rehabilitation in Tanzania.

Following the fellowship, she returned to Dar es Salaam where she continued to focus on AIDS issues. She was commissioned by the Ministry of Justice through the Tanzania Women Lawyers’ Association to carry out an assessment and review of Tanzania HIV/AIDS laws, resulting in a proposal for new legislation related to HIV/AIDS.

From 1997-1999: consultant/personal assistant to the Executive Director of the Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation, working to promote peace, unity and people-centered development in Africa. She then worked for the Burundi Peace Negotiation Rounds I-IV, including attending committee sessions as a Conference Facilities Officer and Documentation Liaison Officer.

Ms. Tungaraza has worked as a consultant for Africare Tanzania, regarding AIDS programs and has been an advisor to the Tanzania Parliamentarians AIDS Coalition. She plans to write a book on human rights, with special emphasis on women and children’s issues.