Safeguarding girls’ rights to education in the enforcement of the African Children’s Charter: the African Children’s Committee decision in Legal and Human Rights Centre and Centre for Reproductive Rights (on behalf of Tanzanian Girls) v Tanzania

This case was brought by the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), and the Centre for Reproductive Rights (CRR) on behalf of six Tanzanian girls who were expelled from school for being pregnant. The six girls were representatives of numerous other girls whose rights to education had been violated due to a discriminatory policy that was in operation in Tanzania. The case challenged retrogressive policy and practice in Tanzania that violated the human rights of girls. The rights violated include the right to education, to non-discrimination and to equality. These rights are provided for in the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (African Children’s Charter) and other legal instruments. In September 2022 the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (African Children’s Committee) ruled in favour of the Tanzanian girls, and found that the practice of expelling pregnant girls from school violated their human rights. The Children’s Committee recommended that Tanzania reforms its education policies, and takes steps to eradicate harmful practices in the country. This case discussion looks at the impact of the retrogressive policy and practices that led to the violation of girls’ rights to education, and the implementation of the provisions of the African Children’s Charter at the national level, with a focus on the right to education in Tanzania. It also discusses the impact of the violation of the right to education, and how this adversely affects the realisation of other rights. The article undertakes desktop research and reviews different reports and case studies of girls whose right to education was violated. This case summary further considers measures that the Tanzanian government has put in place since the Committee expressed itself on this issue. The broader aim of the case discussion is to highlight the role of states in upholding socio-economic rights, particularly the right to education, and to reflect on measures that states can put in place to advance the right to education of girls. For purposes of advancing this discourse, the case summary also gives a comparative analysis of Sierra Leone, where a similar policy that banned pregnant girls from attending school was in place.