AMANDLA! WOMEN TO WATCH EDITION
Amne Suedi
CEO Shikana Law Group, Tanzania.
Why did you decide to study law?
I wanted to know my rights and also fight for others who needed to be represented.
What is your proudest professional moment thus far?
Opening my law Firm.
Looking back, what is one decision/action you would have done differently?
I would not have studied for my LLM right after my university degree. It would have been better to wait.
Share some major professional challenges you have faced, or continue to face as a woman in law.
Starting my legal firm and then maintaining it has come with many blessings but also many challenges particularly being in Africa where societies are very patriarchal I often have to navigate through people's prejudices of my incompetence because I am a black woman. I just have to prove myself more than others, but that is the world we live in. Otherwise, there have been more blessings than challenges.
What are some practical strategies for survival in the legal profession?
It is important to know why you have chosen the legal profession and understand the vision very well because the path is long, difficult and demanding. It is important to find a mentor that you aspire to become and who can provide guidance in your career. Another important thing is to stop thinking that we have limitations as a woman in the legal profession. There are structural limitations, but they can be overcome with the mindset that YOU have no limitations.