Dodoma. Tanzania’s Chief Justice, George Masaju, has called for a more inclusive and balanced approach in addressing gender-based violence (GBV), urging stakeholders to recognize that the problem affects both women and men.
Speaking in Dodoma during a training session for coordinators of the Tanzania Women Judges Association (TAWJA), Chief Justice Masaju emphasized the need for strategic action plans that address the rights and welfare of all human beings, regardless of gender or age.
“Your responsibility today is to come up with strategies that can help solve the challenges we continue to face in matters related to human rights,” he said. “These issues concern everyone—men and women of all ages, including adults, the elderly, and children.”
Justice Masaju noted that discussions around gender-based violence are often misunderstood as being exclusively about women, overlooking the fact that men, too, experience abuse in various forms.
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“For example, we have this challenge of gender-based violence. There has been a misconception that gender issues concern only women,” he explained. “But they also involve men, and both are, in different ways, victims of abuse from the opposite sex.”
While acknowledging that women are statistically more affected by violence, Masaju urged that the suffering of men should not be ignored. He highlighted the cultural pressures that prevent men from speaking out about their experiences.
“I recognize that the problem of violence against women is perhaps more severe compared to men. But men are also abused; they just endure it quietly because our society holds the belief that a man should not appear weak,” he said. “As a result, some suffer in silence, and at times we lose them too early. It is only after they are gone that we realize their importance.”
He urged Tanzanians to value one another while alive and to strengthen mutual care and respect between men and women.
“I advise that we continue to care for one another while we are still alive. Everyone needs the other,” he said. “I can assure you—a man needs a woman very much, and a woman needs a man very much.”
The Chief Justice’s remarks come amid ongoing efforts in Tanzania to tackle gender-based violence, which remains a major human rights concern despite years of advocacy and policy reform.
