Current role
Maria Matui is the Executive Director of Women Action Towards Economic Development, the Chairperson for the Coalition for Gender and Change and a Board member for Women Human Rights Defenders.

Professional experience
Maria focuses on Access to Justice, Social, Economic and Gender programs. She has experience in operations, finance and project management. She is qualified in women leadership training and human rights advocacy. She has experience in the management of professional institutions including her roles as acting CEO with Tanganyika Law Society and the National Legal Fraternity for Lawyers, and as a founding member of Women Action Towards Economic Development, a Non-Governmental Organization in Tanzania.
Maria has worked in the civic and social organization industry, which has enabled her to strategically implement projects even with modest financial and human resources. These experiences have allowed Maria to build partnerships and implement develop projects, including Women Human Rights Defenders trainings, human rights education training with paralegals, and the development a nexus between access to justice and legal empowerment.

Project
Based in Dar es Salaam, Maria’s project will work with local authorities, such as the Police Gender Desk and juvenile court magistrates, to find ways to avoid the delays in justice that so often cause violations of human rights. More specifically, the project will develop a referral pro bono legal representation through a network of professional bodies qualified in the area of women and girl’s rights and access to justice. To ensure proper referral systems are in place, Maria will work closely with prisons officers to conduct legal aid and identify cases, which need court representations and legal advice.