ABSTRACT
In an attempt to formalize, professionalize and strengthen the administration of justice in local courts, the state invested the formal justice system with the power of authority to run them, in the process seemingly delegitimizing the power of traditional authority. However, the state’s inability to fully follow through with the reform has created a situation of unease in which the traditional court system is easily abused. This chapter presents the varied forms of women’s (in)access to traditional and informal justice mechanisms, examining the challenges they face in navigating a cumbersome, expensive and gender-biased traditional legal system that is highly in need of reform. The chapter argues that women’s struggles for justice are part of a continuum of systemic discrimination against them, which is entrenched in social norms and values and reinforced by a lack of political will in addressing it.
