The 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 Mozambigue on the south. To the east it borders the Indian Ocean.

Tanzania is one of the EASSI member countries with two focal point organisations that we work with to implement activities namely:

• Tanzania Media Women Association - www.tamwa.org and
• Tanzania Gender Networking Programme - www.tgnp.org

GENDER EQUALITY ISSUES IN TANZANIA

Tanzania became independent from Britain in 1964. Following a period of one-party rule, democratic elections were held for the first time in 1995. Politically and economically stable, Tanzania has developed as a popular tourist destination, with many coming to visit Mount Kilimanjaro and the Serengeti national park. Tanzania is classed as a low-income country by the World Bank. The Constitution of Tanzania prohibits gender-based discrimination but the country’s legislation has yet to be adjusted to support this principle.

In general, legal protection for women remains limited, in part because Tanzania’s judicial authorities take into account both customary and Islamic laws. Stereotypical views of the role and place of men and women still persist in Tanzania, and are evident at the household level, division of labor, access and control over resources and power relations. Whilst Tanzania has achieved gender parity in primary school education, gender gaps remain in secondary and tertiary education, wage equality and political participation. Tanzania ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women in 1985, and the Optional Protocol in 2004.

The country ratified the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa in 2007. The 2011 Human Development Index rating for Tanzania is 0.466, placing it in 152nd place (out of 187 countries).

Tanzania is ranked in 119th place in the Gender Inequality Index (out of 146 countries), with a score of 0.590. Tanzania is ranked in 59th place in the 2011 Global Gender Gap Index, with a score of 0.6904.

Restricted physical integrity

In 1998, the government passed the Sexual Offences Special Provision Act, 1998, which addresses both rape and incest. The law also criminalises spousal rape, but only if the couple is legally separated. Rape is now punishable by life imprisonment or by 30 days in prison with corporal punishment. There is no law in Tanzania specifically addressing domestic violence. When women do seek help from the police, they are generally unwilling to intervene. Sexual harassment in the workplace is prohibited in Tanzania, but is understood to be widespread. According to the US Department of State’s 2010 human rights report, this includes women being expected to perform sexual favours in exchange for promotion at work. Domestic violence remains very widespread and severely under-reported. Pressure from family and the community to remain silent, and stigma surrounding gender-based violence prevents many women from reporting spousal violence. The number of complaints filed in relation to violence against women has increased in recent years. A 2005 study found that 15% of ever married women had been physically assaulted in the previous 12 months, while 33% had ever experienced violence at the hands of their partner. A majority of women in Tanzania view some forms of wife beating as justified; in the 2004-2005 DHS, when presented with a list of five reasons why a husband might be justified in beating his wife, 59.6% agreed with at least one reason. Rape remains a serious problem. According to the US Department of State, there were an estimated 3,200 reported rape cases between January and June of 2010 throughout the country. More than 10% of Tanzanian women are thought to have suffered a sexual assault, but this figure may be low because very few women register complaints. FGM for anyone under the age of 18 is prohibited under the Sexual Offences Special Provision Act, 1998, and section 21 of the penal code, with punishments of 5 to 15 years in prison. However, according to 2008 report to the CEDAW committee, the law is poorly enforced, and as of 2008, no-one had been prosecuted for performing FGM. The 2005 DHS found that nearly 15% of women surveyed had undergone some form of FGM. According to some sources, the number of Tanzanian women who want FGM to continue is very low; the 2005 DHS, for example found more than 90% of those surveyed wanted the practice to end, versus only 5% who thought it should continue. Abortion can only be performed legally in cases where the woman’s mental or physical health is in danger. There are no legal restrictions on women’s access to contraception in Tanzania. While knowledge of contraceptives approached universal in Tanzania, a women’s decision to use and usage patterns appear to be strongly correlated with her feelings about contraception and her desire for children. Overall 20% of currently married women were using contraception at the time of the 2004-2005 DHS. Among the 73.6% of women who were not using, just over 56% intended future use, while 38.6% did not. Of this latter group, and unlike respondents to this question in surveys in surrounding countries, relatively few women reported a reason related to infertility. Rather, more than 15.5% reported outright opposition to contraception; an additional 7.4% said that their husband opposed, and an additional 15.6% wanted to have as many children as possible. Other factors limiting women’s access to contraction include shortages of supplies at clinics, and the need to travel long distances to reach healthcare providers.

Restricted resources and entitlements

Customary laws that restrict a woman’s property rights are still widespread, but the government of Tanzania has taken steps to improve legislation in regard to women’s ownership rights. The 1999 Land Act gives Tanzanian women the right to obtain access to land, including the right to own, use and sell land, and mandates joint titling of land. The Village Land Act ensures that women are represented on land allocation committees and land administration councils. Although Tanzania’s Law of Marriage Act grants women certain ownership rights, including access to property other than land, customary and Islamic laws that undermine these rights prevail within the Muslim community. Upholding the Law of Marriage Act, the Supreme Court of Tanzania has invalidated customary law that prevented women from selling land. A 2004 amendment to the Land Act gave Tanzanian women the right to mortgage land to enable them to access to bank loans. Prior to this, a women’s development fund was established in 1993 to facilitate access to commercial loans and encourage women to participate in the economic sector. However, customary practices continue to restrict women’s access to and control over loans and credit.

Freedom of speech, assembly and association are generally respected in Tanzania. Women’s rights organisations in Tanzania appear to be particularly active in the area of raising awareness of gender-based violence, and providing support to victims. With respect to political participation, women hold 99 of 323 seats in Tanzania’s unicameral National Assembly, which is just above the Constitutional mandate that women occupy 30% of the seats. In addition, 7 women were appointed to hold ministerial positions. Tanzania offers paid maternity leave to employed women for up to 84 days (12 weeks), financed by a national social security fund. However, the large number of women employed in the informal sector and as unpaid agricultural workers means that they are not eligible for maternity and other social security benefits.

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