DAR ES SALAAM: WOMEN in the country have been urged to step up and contest for various positions in the upcoming General Elections later this year to strengthen their voice and influence in key decision-making bodies.
The call was made on Friday in Dar es Salaam by former Deputy Minister for Community Development, Gender and Children Ms Shamim Khan during the commemoration of International Women’s Day organised by Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (TGNP).
The commemoration also reflected on the 30 years after the Beijing Conference and adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
Ms Khan who also served as Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry said that despite remarkable progress in advancing women rights 30 years after Beijing Conference, women representation in various decision-making bodies is still low.
She encouraged women to step forward and confidently contest for various positions, insisting the need to strengthen their presence in politics and leadership.
Ms Khan said that in 1985, she was the only elected female Member of Parliament but to date the number has increased to 26.
She urged women to further strengthen their political participation by actively engaging in the electoral process.
Commenting on Special Seats, Ms Khan said that the seats should be retained but there must be term limit.
She said two terms are sufficient for a Special Seats MP to gain experience and then contest through a constituency.
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On her part, TGNP Executive Director, Ms Lilian Liundi said that Tanzania has made significant progress in the 30 years since the Beijing Conference, but there are still challenges in which women must confront with unwavering courage and determination, including cultural biases, economic disparities and systemic discrimination.
“On this global journey, we take pride in being among only 37 countries worldwide which is equivalent to 21.1 per cent where Heads of State and Government include women.
In parliamentary speakers, we are also among the 22.7 per cent globally who have women in this role.
Tanzania is also one of the few countries where the Minister for Defence is a woman,” Ms Liundi noted.
She said as of January 2019, the country ranked 2nd in East Africa with 36.9 per cent of parliamentary seats held by women, of whom 26 were elected MPs and others from Special Seats.
“The elected female parliamentarians were less than 10 per cent, we have made notable progress by having 26 elected female parliamentarians, but we could have made great strides,” she said.
Ms Liundi further said that the number of women in local government is still low, noting that only 6.5 per cent of women are councillors, adding that after 2019 local government election women made only 2.
1 per cent of elected village chairpersons, 6.7 per cent of elected hamlet chairpersons and 12.6 per cent of elected street chairpersons.
She further said that the statistics show positive changes in the fight against various forms of violence, citing female genital mutilation (FGM) which has decreased from 18 per cent in 1995 to 6 per cent to date while early pregnancies have dropped from 27 per cent in 1995 to 16 per cent in 2023.
She said together women can dismantle the obstacles they confront in advancing their rights and advocate for policies that empower women at all levels of decision making.
