New initiative to boost women’s representation

DAR ES SALAAM: MINISTER for Community Development, Gender, Women and Special groups, Dr Dorothy Gwajima has officially launched the ‘USAID Wanawake Sasa’ project, also known as Women Now, aimed at enhancing women’s and girls’ participation in politics and leadership.

The three-year project, valued at 8bn/- is being implemented by Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF) in collaboration with Her Initiative and JamiiForum, with support from the US government through USAID.

The launch comes in response to ongoing concerns about the insufficient representation of women in politics. Speaking during the launch on Thursday, the Minister highlighted the need to boost women’s involvement in political processes.

“The 2022 Population and Housing Census shows that women make up 51 per cent of the total population in the country; however, they only represent 37 per cent of Parliament, with elected women MPs accounting for just 9 per cent,” she said.

She added: “We all recognise that we cannot achieve sustainable development if women who are the majority according to the 2022 census are left behind.” With local government elections approaching, Dr Gwajima urged stakeholders to encourage and empower women to participate in the voter registry and to apply for various positions in the elections.

“I also urge political parties to increase the number of women nominated for positions at different levels, such as Street, hamlet and village leaders,” she emphasised.

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Advocate Anna Kulaya, Chief of Party for USAID and National Coordinator for WiLDAF, noted that the project will be implemented in four regions of mainland Tanzania, namely Dar es Salaam, Iringa, Arusha, and Mwanza as well as in Zanzibar (Unguja and Pemba).

She added that the project aligns with the mission’s objective of strengthening democratic governance and fostering a new generation of youth leaders who advocate for participatory and citizen-centric governance.

The Mission Director for USAID Tanzania, Craig Hart underscored the importance of women’s voices in democratic processes and commended both the government and civil society for their efforts.

He called on stakeholders to take continuous action to ensure that women’s voices are heard and to influence the political landscape.