Meet The Fellow

Meet Nuru Jamal Abubaker from Tanzania.

Nuru is an Advocate of the High Court of Tanzania whose motto in her practice is to add value to the people, organisations and communities that she serves. Nuru is a passionate human rights advocate. She is driven by the pursuit of making a positive impact and offering practical solutions to the legal challenges in the community. Nuru joined the training programme so as to master the skills necessary in providing effective and sustainable solutions to the different public interest legal issues.

For the practicum, Nuru is hosted by the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), a truly eye-opening experience as she gets first-hand experience on the different human rights violations across the country and ways to combat them.

Nuru’s project, aptly titled “Spare the Rod and Teach the Child’’ challenges The Education (Corporal Punishment) Regulations G.N №294 of 2022. The Regulations allow inflicting corporal punishment on students by the head teachers. The National Education Act of 1978 and the Law of the Child Act of 2009 were established to domesticate the United Nations Convention on Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. Both of these international instruments offer protection to students from abuse. However protection against corporal punishment in schools in Tanzania remains minimal. Nuru argues that corporal punishments do not enhance performance in schools but instead lower the students grades as it increases fear and absenteeism in class. The Regulations also contravene provisions of the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania under Articles 12(2) and 13 (6) (e), which state that every person is entitled to recognition and respect for his dignity and that the state authority shall ensure that no person is subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment. To this end, Nuru aims to file a case seeking the amendment of the Education Act so as to repeal the Regulations made under it i.e. The Education (Corporal Punishment) Regulations G.N №294 of 2022, and for the Courts to direct the government to provide guidelines that enforce positive discipline mechanisms for students. In the long run, Nuru hopes that Tanzania will adopt best practices that protect the best interests of the students.

Nuru is a curious lawyer and learner, but that’s not all — she has a sweet tooth particularly when it comes to chocolate!

“And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.” — Marianne Williamson.

We wish Nuru the best, as she continues to shed her light and guidance on the community’s pressing public interest issues.