GEOGRAPHY

United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda on the north, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the west, and Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique on the south. To the east it borders the Indian Ocean. The country is named after Tanganyika, its mainland part, and the Zanzibar islands off its east coast. Tanganyika united with Zanzibar in 1964, forming the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, which later the same year was renamed the United Republic of Tanzania. In November 2006, the population was estimated at 37,849,133.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

  Women represent 30.4% in politics.”

Tanzania's president and National Assembly members are elected concurrently by direct popular vote for five-year terms. The president appoints a prime minister who serves as the government's leader in the National Assembly. The president selects his cabinet from among National Assembly members. The Constitution also empowers him to nominate ten non-elected members of Parliament, who also are eligible to become cabinet members. Elections for president and all National Assembly seats were held in December 2005 where His Excellency Jakaya Kikwete was elected.
EASSI members in Tanzania are Tanzania Gender Networking Program (TGNP) and Tanzania Media Women’s Association (TAMWA).
TGNP is based in Dar es Salaam and is one of the founder members of EASSI. With their colourful gender festivals held every two years, TGNP serves as a powerful network within East Africa providing support for women and girls. TGNP has gained recognition for promotion of gender budgeting in Tanzania and the region. For more information,visit http://www.tgnp.org. During the 2007 Tanzania Gender Festival, EASSI networked with the Anti FGM Coalition, which conducts quarterly regional campaigns. While the practice is not large in the country, one small region in the West carries it out on a 100% scale.
TAMWA is an association that supports women in media. For long, women have been suppressed in many ways through gender stereotyping in media and TAMWA seeks to revert that by creating a clearer and truer image of women and girls. For more information visit http://www.tamwa.org