NGO pushes women involvement in decision making

IN a move aimed at increasing the number of women leaders in the country, media practitioners have been urged to report stories that will create awareness on involvement of women in decision-making bodies.

The call was made recently by Transformative and Integrative Build out for All (TIBA) Executive Director, Marcella Lungu during a workshop held in Dar es Salaam.

She noted that the public should build trust on women and give them a chance to take part in various decision making bodies because their views can provide best solutions to some problems facing the society.

‘’In other areas some women are holding leadership positions but they are not confident to air their views but through media   the situation can be improved,” she said.

She added: “Women should be given the opportunity to contribute in decision making bodies so that they can help in addressing various challenges facing the society, ’’Ms Lungu.

Ms Lungu further said that equality should start at family level especially in tribes which restrict women to speak in front of men.

On her part, Internews Media Specialist, Ms Alakok Mayombo added that women with different professionals should be ready to air their views when given a chance to do so.

She said in order to increase the number of women in decision making bodies, work responsibilities should also be distributed equally between men and women.

“For a person to hold a certain position they must have required qualifications, thus the distribution of work in organisations must also consider such qualities and not gender, observed Alakok.

University of Dar es Salaam’s s School of Journalism and Mass Communication Assistant Lecturer Zuhura Selemani said that media should report more on gender equality   to bridge the gap between men and women in decision-making related policies, budget, and education.

She added that the Media Council of Tanzania (2019) study shows that women occupy low to middle-level positions.