TANZANIA has recently joined with other countries in the world and commemorated the World International Women’s Day. This year’s theme was ‘Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow’.
The day is celebrated in many countries in the world and it is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, cultural, economic or political.
Since its inception, the day has assumed new global dimensions for women in both developed and developing countries.
Despite the commemorations in the world, gender based violence for women and girls are still mushrooming in the countries, where the killed women are carrying heavy stories in the headlines of the newspapers.
Gender Based Violence (GBV) refers to harmful acts directed to individuals based on their gender and it is rooted in gender inequality, the abuse of power and harmful norms.
GBV is also a serious violation of human rights and life –threatening health and protection issues, which require political will and public readiness to end it for the betterment of the country’s progress and the social welfare of its citizens.
Some women and men’s found being killed brutally using sharp objects such as bush knives, knives and other related objects the reason being jealousy in love or misunderstanding and conflicts in the family.
According to the 2021 Legal and Human Rights Centre report, different forms of violence perpetrated against women, children, men, people with disabilities and elderly found infringed their right to freedom from violence.
The report clarified that, regarding violence against men, while the majority of respondents of the human rights survey(71 per cent) said it is only a minor problem and not at all a problem, a quarter of the respondent acknowledged that it is a moderate problem in their community, while 4 percent said it is in fact a serious problem.
The report said the incidence of violence against men were reported in Dar es Salaam, Songwe, Mara, Shinyanga where at least four men were killed by their lovers or wives, three of them because of jealousy.
According to the Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey and Malaria Indicator Survey (2015-16), nationally 40 per cent of all women aged 15-19 years have experienced physical violence, while 17 per cent have experienced sexual violence.
According to the Survey, women aged 15-49 equal to 44 per cent have experienced either physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner while spousal violence is highest in rural areas, averaging to 52 per cent while the prevalence in urban areas averages 45 per cent.
About 30 of girls experience sexual violence before the age of 18 and among never-married women, 16 per cent have experienced physical violence and nine per cent experienced sexual violence and only 54 per cent of women in the country experienced physical or sexual violence seek help.
The government on its part, It has been working tirelessly to fight GBV, where according to the Minister for Community Development , Gender , Women and Special Groups, Dr Dorothy Gwajima, a total of 1,843 committees for women and children security groups were formed at village and local authorities between March 2021 and March this year.
This year’s theme of the International Women Day “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow”, it needs more dialogue on the welfare of women and girls in the community. Gender equality today for a sustainable development will be inevitable if there will be the existence of GBV in the community.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan early this year assured the public that her government will fight for GBV and all forms of discrimination across the country.
The Head of state was quoted saying the GBV against women and girls children remains a major challenge in the country and urged the community to bring out people who commit such acts of GBV so that strong legal action can be taken against them.
In order for the community to stop GBV, every person must educate herself/ himself on the root causes of violence in his or her community, end discriminatory languages and stop sexual harassment, stop victim blaming and develop an action plan in the s/he lives in order to have a dialogue on how they can stop GBV.
It is very important to stop GBV in the community because prevention plays a central role in efforts to remove the root causes of GBV as well human rights activism have also a role to play in order to stop it.
Every person in a community must be ready to join the government’s efforts in fighting GBV so that women and children could live and enjoy their life free from it.