Fortunate
Chilenje

Fortunate Chilenje is a human rights lawyer from Zimbabwe serving her fellowship at the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) in Tanzania.

She holds a Bachelor of Laws from Great Zimbabwe University and a Master of Laws in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa from the University of Pretoria, graduating with distinction. She received the Nelson Mandela Award for best overall student and the Victor Dankwa Award for best performer in the African Human Rights module.

Fortunate has experience advancing women’s rights and gender justice across Africa. She previously served as a Legal Officer at Musasa, where she led mobile legal clinics and developed gender-sensitive legal strategies for displaced women and girls. At the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association, she coordinated women’s empowerment initiatives in extractive communities and mobilised youth for environmental accountability campaigns. As a Public Prosecutor with the National Prosecuting Authority, she handled GBV and child-related cases using survivor-centred approaches that improved conviction outcomes. Her expertise includes legal research, litigation, advocacy, and community-based access-to-justice programming.

During the fellowship, Fortunate aims to strengthen her feminist lawyering skills and contribute to advancing gender justice across the continent.