ALTHOUGH men are perceived as perpetrators of gender violence, their role in fight against the vice cannot be ignored.
Since then, the government in collaboration with other stakeholders has been taking various measures to protect women and girls who are the main victims of GBV which aims at ensuring equality between both sexes.
The measures among others included enactment and amendment of various legislations, adoption of National Plans of Action to end violence against women and children and ratification of various regional and international conventions basing on human equality including rights and equality in leadership participation at all levels and eradication of all kinds of gender violence.
As part of activities to observe 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence, which climax today (Dec 10) Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (TGNP) recently organised safe space for men to discuss various issues related to gender and their role in promoting gender equality.
TGNP Communications Officer Monica John said that her organisation believes in collective efforts to bring rapid changes which are inclusive and sustainable.
“When we say the fight against gender violence we mean that no one should be left behind, thus the battle should include various groups and stakeholders,” she said.
She further explained that, women and children are the victims of gender violence which in most cases is done by men, thus it is important to raise men’s awareness about the vice and be involved in various interventions aimed at addressing the problem.
Ms John said men participation in GBV fight is also crucial because it enables them to take lead in challenging social norms and attitudes that cause and perpetuate violence such as early marriages, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), early pregnancies and women’s beatings.
She said men engagement will also promote positive parenting and reduce gender violence from family level because fathers will fulfill their responsibilities including taking care of the family. Ms John said the safe space for men is important because men are perpetrators of GBV at family level.
“It is important for men to be part of the solution in ending GBV because they form a big part of those who commit violent acts … such forum helps to bring efficiency especially in changing their perceptions and acts towards women,” Ms John said.
She said TGNP believes that if women and men took part in the efforts to end GBV, the country will move forward especially in changing negative perception on gender thus help in changing traditions, and oppressive customs.
According to men who gathered in Dar es Salaam recently, the causes behind increasing cases of violence in the country include among others the desire by men to show /retain their masculinity, economic power, tradition and customs.
They also said that most of the plans, policies and interventions being undertaken to fight gender based violence are focused on protecting and empowering women, thus leaving men behind.
Men are worried that the efforts being directed on protecting women and girls may lead to more problems in future because there were also some men who experience gender violence. The group called for equal empowerment opportunities to both men and women in order to create a society which is free from GBV.
They said that traditionally men are perceived as powerful and controllers in the family and society in general, thus the efforts being undertaken to improve the status of women and girls is regarded as a threat to their superiority.
Mr Severine Allute, WASH Advisor from Tonehai said that the Beijing Conference held in 1995 came up with strategies of empowering women in all fields and forgot about men.
“Most of the plans, policies and strategies undertaken focused on uplifting women and as a result men feel that they are no longer recognised and respected in the family, especially when a woman is financially stable in comparison to a man, thus perpetuating violence,” he said.
He added: “Economic power is a big problem for majority of men, most women have been economically empowered thus some men feel uncomfortable with them and feel that they are losing their superiority.” Mr Allute said that in order to fight gender based violence, there should be equal empowerment between men and women.
Another participant, Idd Rajabu Mziray, Deputy Coordinator from Men Engage Tanzania said that traditionally a man has been considered as the financial provider in the family, but women empowerment has removed this male dominance and as a result they have to find ways of overcoming such situation, which in most cases results into gender violence.
“When men feel that they are no longer powerful, they find ways of protecting themselves (egoism) such as restricting a woman from engaging in income generating activities, beating, or forcing her to quit her job,” he said. “Gender based violence cases are on the rise because we have a society where women have been empowered forcing some men not to be ready to live with such women,” he said.
Dr Katanta Simwanza from Engender Health said the main cause of gender violence is how a man has been raised in the society that surrounds him. “In our society, a man is considered as a leader, decision maker, owner of resources and property and a person who is courageous, thus a man who assists his wife in doing domestic chores is seen as weird… but a woman is supposed to be respectful, clean and honest,” he said.
“These kinds of perceptions causes a man to continue being more powerful while a woman continues to be undermined… this is wrong because the society has denied men the opportunity to express their emotions, causing more problem to them including death,” he said.
A Dar es Salaam resident, Joseph Msendo said that policies and various laws have paid more attention on protecting women than men. For instance, he said when parents decide to divorce, a man is not allowed to live with the children until they reach a certain age, yet he is required to provide for all their essential needs regardless of his economic situation.
An independent Advocate, Mlowe Sapience said that economic situation is one of the causes of gender violence, where rich people cause emotional violence while those who are poor use physical violence as a defence mechanism.
He also said that most of the youth are not prepared enough to get married, they only decide to marry because of age, pressure from the family or because they get jobs to earn income, and as a result they fail to change their behaviour and live the kind of life which cause misunderstanding in the family.
16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence is a global campaign dedicated to raising awareness about the impact of violence, particularly on women.
The campaign starts 25 November, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and concludes 10 December, Human Rights Day. Speaking recently in Dar es Salaam when gracing the TGNP’s Women Leadership Summit, Minister for Community Development, Gender, Women and Special Groups Dr Dorothy Gwajima commended the government for recognising women’s contribution who are 51 per cent of all Tanzanians according to NPHC 2022.
She said by recognising that, the government has ratified various regional and international conventions basing on human equality including rights and equality in leadership participation at all levels and eradication of all kinds of gender violence.
They include the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979, The 1995 Beijing Platform for Action, Maputo Declaration, SADC Gender and Development Protocol, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Agenda 2030, Agenda 2063 The Africa we Want, Generation Equality Forum.
According to the World Bank Report in Tanzania, 40 per cent of all women aged 15-49 years have experienced physical violence, while 17 per cent have experienced sexual violence.
Of women aged 15- 49, 44 per cent have experienced either physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner.
Spousal violence prevalence is highest in rural areas, averaging 52 per cent while the prevalence in urban areas averages 45 per cent. Almost 30 per cent of girls experience sexual violence before the age of 18.
