Journey of Tanzanian women to Beijing

DAR ES SALAAM: THIS year, the world is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which was adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995.

Marking 30 years now, the conference brought together thousands of people from around the world to discuss women’s rights and gender equality.

It included government delegates, civil servants, media and Non-Governmental Organizations representatives.

The Beijing Conference was proceeded by three major United Nations conferences on women which included the First World Conference on Women (1975) held in Mexico City, Mexico which marked the beginning of the UN Decade for Women (1976–1985). The gathering focuses on gender equality and women’s integration into development.

The Second World Conference on Women (1980) – held in Copenhagen, Denmark reviewed progress in implementing the Mexico City Plan of Action and highlighted areas of inequality in education, employment, and health care while the Third World Conference on Women (1985) – Nairobi, Kenya focused on evaluating achievements during the UN Decade for Women.

These conferences laid the groundwork for the transformative Beijing Conference in 1995, which culminated into the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

Tanzania played a significant and influential role in the success of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, largely due to the leadership and dedication of a Tanzanian diplomat and advocate for women’s rights Gertrude Mongella, who was appointed as the Secretary-General of the Beijing Conference.

On the part of Tanzania, before the Beijing Conference there were various processes and preparations made by the government in collaboration with NGOs to ensure that the country is well represented in the conference.

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Apart from the positions held by some Tanzanian women who wanted to attend the Beijing Conference, their desire to attend the gathering was also driven by various challenges that women were facing, including the widespread oppression and abuse of women and girls in society.

As a women right’s activist, Mama Mongella brags of the revolution made due to the conference from setting the global tone on issues of gender equality and women’s empowerment, whereby today women and men are looked at as equal citizens.

She referred to the conference as among the largest conferences ever to be held in the UN as it gathered together around 15,000 people from 185 nations meeting in Beijing.

She said that her statement to quote:  “The revolution of equality between men and women has begun, there is no going back” is something that has remained in her heart until to date.

“This is a profound revolution in human society, and sometimes I feel sad to see that we, as women, and sometimes even men, say that these women’s issues are just for women. This is not true; all the decisions we made in Beijing show that this is an agenda for the entire society,” she said.

She said that discrimination against women has persisted for decades, stressing the need for the entire society working together to eradicate it for the benefit of all.

Ms Mongella said that even 30 years after the Beijing Conference, a monumental challenge remains, as still gender inequality has been profoundly embedded in society for centuries.

“We still have work to do, this is an unfinished revolution. It is a transformation and reform that is not yet complete, but we should not lose hope. This ailment has existed for years and centuries thus it cannot be cured in just one day,” she said.

Asseny Muro one of the founders of the Tanzania Gender Networking Group (TGNP), a leading women’s rights and feminist organization said that although she didn’t go to Beijing but she played an important role to ensure that their agenda are well presented during the gathering as well as facilitation of delegates.

She said she developed a strong passion for empowering women after living in a village in Bagamoyo District and witnessing the various challenges women face, which undermine their dignity.

Ms Muro explained that she joined the study group known as the Women Research and Documentation Project, which enabled them to conduct research and compile data highlighting the status of women.

“We couldn’t engage leaders and policymakers without having data and research that demonstrated the realities women face. Therefore, this research was essential in the movement to liberate women,” she said.

She further said that after getting an opportunity to work with UNICEF, her efforts were recognized, and she was given a gender desk to oversee gender-related issues in UNICEF programs.

She was also in charge of allocating resources to promote gender equality. “When the Beijing agenda emerged, I was assigned the responsibility of managing and ensuring the entire preparation process for Beijing, including national committees and other delegates secure funding for attending the conference.”

“My desk was responsible for mobilizing funds to ensure women could participate in Beijing. I also oversaw the process of securing funds and scientifically emphasizing the issue of the girl child,” she stated.

She said her desk coordinated a comprehensive study on the status of the girl child in the country, as the girl child became a key agenda item for the Beijing Conference, which Ms Mongela led to ensure it was recognized one of the twelve critical areas of concern for women outlined in the 1995 Beijing Declaration.

Former Executive Director of the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), Hellen Kijo Bisimba, said that during her research for her master’s degree, which focused on human rights issues, she encountered real cases of gender-based violence, child abuse, and human rights violations.

After completing her master’s degree, she joined an organization focused on women’s issues known as SUWATA (Women’s Legal Aid Scheme).

She noted that at SUWATA, they received approximately 40 women daily, ranging from young girls to elderly women, all seeking assistance for various problems.

This experience motivated her to utilize every opportunity she had to ensure that women and girls were empowered and that their dignity was respected.

She later joined Women in Law and Development in Africa (WILDAF), where she was tasked with conducting research on refugee women, specifically the challenges they face as refugees, as part of the preparations for the Beijing Conference.

Former Minister for Finance and Economy, Zakia Meghji, led Tanzania’s delegation to the Beijing Conference while serving as the Minister for Health.

She said that they worked tirelessly in collaboration with NGOs before attending the conference, which she described as a pivotal moment in the advocacy for women’s rights.