The Rights of Indigenous Women Around the World – Understanding Root Causes of Inequality and Injustice

Date: Tuesday 06 December,  12.00noon – 1.30pm 

Location: Online via Zoom

This webinar will introduce participants to the challenges facing indigenous women, explore  right-based approaches in biodiversity conservation, and examine the root causes of injustice and inequality among indigenous people globally and locally. Our speakers will be Joseph Moses Oleshangay, an advocate with the Legal and Human Rights Centre in Tanzania and Dr. Sindy Joyce who is an Irish Traveller, a Human Rights Defender, a sociologist, and a member of President Michael D Higgins Council of State.


Indigenous women’s rights are embedded in international laws and human rights conventions, such as the  Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) of 1979. Joseph Moses Oleshangay will be speaking about how despite this protection (Tanzania ratified CEDAW in 1989), the rights of the Indigenous Maasai women in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) are violated at the national and international levels by governments and the private sector. How they are being threatened with eviction from their motherland in the name of conservation, and how this lack of respect for their rights is leading to gender inequality.


For more information on the issue, please read an article written by our staff member Maximiliana Mtenga when on placement at STAND an Initiative of Suas.


This event is free and open to all. 



Registration for this event is closed.

Biographies

Joseph Moses Oleshangay was born in Ngorongoro, Arusha Tanzania. He is a lawyer and practicing Advocate in Tanzania. He hold Bachelor’s Degree in Law (LL. B) and a Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice (PGDLP) from the law school of Tanzania.  


From 2014, Joseph has worked in different capacities on general aspects of law and Indigenous rights advocacy in particular for the last five years, Joseph has been working with Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) the leading Human right organization in Tanzania first as the legal aid attorney at Arusha. Thereafter, in coordinating loose network of 27 CSO to Observe the conduct of the 2019 and 2020 Elections in Tanzania.  


Thereafter, Joseph was working on issues related to land tenure particularly on the marginalized group of Women, indigents, and indigenous Communities particularly in northern Tanzania. Joseph is the most known advocate for protection of Maasai land tenure and has assisted Masai in filing tenth of cases before local and regional Courts. 


He is an expert both in law, conservation, indigenous affairs, democracy and governance. 


Born and bred in Ngorongoro with a challenging economic and social justice, he has developed a special interest in rights of community legally living within and along the Tanzania protected areas and has been for over one decade been advocating for social and economic justice.  


He served as consultants in different capacities in the fields of land tenure, governance, democracy, human rights. He is one and the key founder of Ramat, a law firm based in Arusha with special focus and keen interest in human rights and general land rights. 


Beyond the mere question of bread and butter as an ordinary litigant, Joseph has been closely monitoring and largely expressed his views on the ongoing land issues in Ngorongoro and Loliondo. 

Biographies

Dr. Sindy Joyce is a Mincéir/Traveller from Newcastle West, County Limerick. She is a Human Rights Defender (HRD), a sociologist and a member of President Michael D Higgins Council of State. 


Her research focuses on Human Rights, racism, hate crime, ethnicity/identity, and social/political constructions of Irish Travellers. Her PhD thesis ‘Mincéirs Siúladh: An ethnographic study of young Travellers’ experiences of racism in an Irish city’ addressed the original and important question of how anti-Traveller racism shapes young people’s use of and movement through public space. 


Sindy is also on the anti-racism committee for the National Action Plan Against Racism. In 2019, Sindy was part of the Irish delegation to present evidence to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on the treatment of Travellers in Ireland.

President at IDEA Conference

By Éimear Green • May 28, 2025
IDEA Members Honour President Higgins at Annual Conference

IDEA to Honour President Higgins at Annual Conference

May 12, 2025
IDEA to Honour President Higgins with Inaugural Global Voice for Humanity Award at Annual Conference

IDEA’s Lab 2025

May 2, 2025
Dates: Thursday 10 July,10.00am-6.00pm and Friday 11 July, 10.00am-3.00pm Location: An Tairseach, Wicklow IDEA is thrilled to open applications for our second iteration of the IDEA's Lab. In this first of its kind residential Lab, we will create space where members can bring their ideas for projects and try out new planning and design methods. Participants will have the opportunity to work on an idea from scratch to (almost) finish with the support of expert trainers and learn through group exchange in a welcoming and inspiring setting. Participants will come out of the training with: An early project design proofed, tested and built through group feedback, iteration, trialling and support. New approaches in designing innovative projects they can apply to their workplace Headspace and time to work on the design of an innovative project A chance to actively learn through group exchange and strengthen the sense of an innovative community of practice in Ireland How? Please email anya@ideaonline.ie to request an application form. Requesting an application form does not commit you to applying. The deadline for returning application form (including organisational sign off letter) is Friday 23 May, midnight . You will find further details in the application form. Participants must register as a team of 2min.- 4 max. Participants without a team member will be asked to pair up with other individual participants or find a partner outside their organisation. Cost : This training is funded by Irish Aid at the Department of Foreign Affairs and offered at a reduced rate. This training is only available to IDEA members. Non-IDEA members can participant as part of an IDEA member team. Fees for members of IDEA is €50  Irish Aid is the Government’s overseas development programme which supports partners working in some of the world’s poorest countries. Irish Aid also supports global citizenship education in Ireland to encourage learning and public engagement with global issues the ideas, opinions and comments expressed in this training are entirely the responsibility of its author(s) and do not necessarily represent or reflect DFA policy. Timeline: Applications open: 07 May Applications close: 23 May, midnight Preparatory session with trainer (30min, online): Mid June Lab arrival: Where possible we advise arrival on Wednesday 09 July in the evening. Accommodation and food will be provided from 09 July, 5.00pm - 11 July, 3.00pm Lab: 10 July,10.00am-6.00pm. 11 July, 10.00am-3.00pm Please don’t hesitate to get in touch at anya@ideaonline.ie if any of the above pose a barrier to your participation, or if you have any other questions.