With only a decade and a half to go before the 2030 global target of achieving a 50/50 equality ratio between men and women in top leadership positions, Tanzania has so far achieved just 36 per cent of women in such roles, according to local gender activists.
Lack of political will and failure to harmonise civil and customary laws
to conform to international provisions that uphold women rights have
been cited as the main reasons why Tanzania now seems certain to miss
the 2030 target.
With only two general elections (2020-2025) scheduled to be held before
the target year, activists and analysts who spoke to The Guardian
yesterday on the occasion of the International Women’s Day called for a
review of the national constitution to allow the equality ratio to cover
both political and administrative posts.
Currently the constitution only stipulates a 50/50 ratio in the National
Assembly, and according to the acting executive director of the Legal
and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), Lulu Urio, the 36 per cent leadership
share currently enjoyed by Tanzanian women is restricted to the august
House only.
Urio said the two general elections would not help the nation achieve
the 50/50 ratio goal by 2030 because of the lack of political
commitment. “Even if we achieve the goal in the National Assembly…what
about other (leadership) organs?” she queried.
She underscored the need for specific laws and regulations that would
make it compulsory for political parties to field contestants of equal
gender balance for various elective positions. The percentage of women
aspirants in last year’s general elections was negligible, she noted:
CCM had only 9 per cent, Chadema (6 per cent), ACT-Wazalendo (11 per
cent) and CUF (11 per cent). The country coordinator of the Tanzania
Women Cross Party (TWCP) – Ulingo platform, Dr Ave Maria Semakafu, was
optimistic that the 50/50 ratio could be attained by the year 2020 if
the country endorses the new proposed national constitution.
On the other hand, the executive director of the Tanzania Media Women’s
Association (TAMWA), Eddah Sanga, quoted a recent global report that
shows many countries including Tanzania would need at least 113 years –
or 35 general elections (after every five years) - to achieve the
target.
Sanga called for the scrapping of local laws against early marriages and
female genital mutilation (FGM) as necessary steps towards promoting
real women’s empowerment. She mentioned the Marriage Act of 1971 as
among the impediments since it permits girls aged just 14 to get married
with parental consent.
According to the Tanzania Demographic Health Survey, 4 out of 10 girls
in the country are married off before the age of 18. It is estimated
that in the 2000-2011 period, 37 per cent of women aged between 20 and
24 were in a marital union by age 18 in Tanzania.
Speaking in Arusha yesterday, Lady Justice Aishiel Sumari of the Moshi
High Court said that current national laws offer too many loopholes for
the propagation of discrimination and violence against women.
She said there is a need to harmonise civil and customary laws to ensure
they are in line with international treaties like the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
Adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly and ratified by
189 states including Tanzania, CEDAW is described as an international
bill of rights for women. Among other things, the provision demands
women’s participation in decision-making at all levels, and the
rejection of violence against women as well as impediments against their
advancement.
The chairperson of the Tanganyika Law Society (TLS), Arusha chapter,
Modest Akida, said it was important for the government to adhere to the
Maputo protocol that guarantees comprehensive rights to women, including
the right to take part in political processes, enjoy social and
political equality with men, be in control of their reproductive health,
and say no to female genital mutilation.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
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