Slaves of an ancient world

Patriarchal practices in Tanzania have systematically deprived women of their rights to own property. Women have further been marginalised by globalisation and market liberalisation that encourage the commercialisation of land that women have no access to. This is the conclusion of research carried out between 1998 and 2000 by the Rural Food Security Policy and Development Group, abbreviated in Kiswahili as KIHACHA. KIHACHA is a coalition of organisations and individuals advocating for the right to food, land, and democracy at all levels.

In the research, Prof. Marjorie Mbilinyi of the University of Dar es Salaam Institute of Development Studies, who is Co-ordinator of KIHACHA, argues that while women have the larger share of household responsibilities, it is men who control the significant resources for production in their families and societies. The system of food distribution at the household level is one area where girls and women have been discriminated against. "The issue of who eats 'what' and 'how much' applies in this case," says Mbilinya. In some ethnic groups, for instance, consumption of protein-rich foods is usually confined to men.

Mbilinyi says that as a result of women's marginalization, women's low status has reduced household food security. And because of their pre-determined status in society, most rural women, especially from pastoralist communities, are deprived of opportunities. Denial of these opportunities limits women's access to both basic education and professional training including economic and legal literacy. Marketing systems operating in rural setting and countrywide deny women the chance to market their produce, including milk products and beans as is the case in the north-east Ngorongoro district, according to Mbilinyi. "Male domination in production, distribution, and consumption systems have proved to be inefficient and hence need to be revisited," she says.

Also, according to Mbilinyi, both male and female youth complain that male heads of households were selling farms or renting them out at the expense of other household members. "They complain that they were denied a share of the proceeds from their labour contribution to the production of households' goods and services," she says. As a result, the youth escaped through early marriages, hoping that they would be allocated land of their own where they could work independently from the patriarchal domination. Others migrated to urban centres to look for opportunities for an independent life, leading to problems of street children and prostitution. A few women who remain in the rural areas have ventured into independent informal sector activities such as retail shops, petty trade, and brewing local beer. And though their incomes are small, such women at least control their own earnings.

However, there were others who chose to physically come face-to-face with the unfair, discriminative traditional practices of the patriarchal system of distribution and consumption of household income. According to the research, in Tanzania's north-eastern regions of Shinyanga Rural, Ngorongoro, and Njombe, domestic violence related to property is an issue of concern. The study cites a recent incident in Shinyanga where a young man killed his parents following a quarrel over the distribution of the family's wealth. Reports alleged that the son had requested a share of the family cattle in vain, and decided to hack his parents to death. Male youth need to get cattle from parents to pay bride price, but it is increasingly becoming more difficult for parents to part with herds of cattle, as economic times become hard. In another incident in north-western Tanzania's town of Mwanza, a widow, Rose Mkoloto, 39, was reported to have fought with her brother-in-law over US$1,625 that was her deceased husband's pension, claiming that the latter was swindling her.

Even the government admits that ancient norms, beliefs, and other traditional values as practised by many societies in the country have been the main source of gender imbalances. Joyce Kafanabo, Assistant Director, Gender Department in the Civil Service Department, says under the traditional system, women were made to believe that men were decision makers in the homes, heads of the clan, and final speakers, and that they could do anything without consulting women. "Such teachings had stuck in women's minds since childhood," Kafanabo says, adding that today there are women who hesitate to perform certain duties on the grounds that they are reserved for men, for instance, road construction.

She recently told a workshop on gender and management sensitisation that such imbalances had extended up to institutional and leadership levels. "At the institutional level, government colleges like the Rwegalurila Water Institute in Dar es Salaam and the Institute of Development Management, Mzumbe, Morogoro, have been enrolling more boy students than girls on what was called lack of toilet facilities for women students," she said. No wonder most top government posts in Tanzania were dominated by men, she said.

However, some women civil organisations in Tanzania have started fighting to set themselves free. The Tanzania Association of Women Leaders in Agriculture and Environment (TAWLAE) is one such organisation. TAWLAE has participated in technology transfer at the grassroots level by focussing on agricultural workload reduction techniques and income-generating activities. TAWLAE, an ardent believer in the participatory approach, was registered as a non-government organisation in 1995 and draws its members from government institutions responsible for agriculture, natural resources, and the environment.

Kivulini Women's Rights Organisation (KWRO) is another such organisation. It has launched a 'Raising Awareness in the Community on Violence' campaign to stimulate dialogue on violence. "We're encouraging community members to begin questioning the legitimacy of violence against women," says Maimuna Kanyamala, KWRO Co-ordinator. "When a man dies, the community says the man was bewitched by his wife; this breeds violence," she adds. She said a research had shown that causes of domestic violence included infidelity, alcoholism, and mismanagement of family finances.

The Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) is another organisation fighting to empower Tanzanian women. About 14,000 women in Mwanza, Bukoba, Mara, Shinyanga, Morogoro, and Dar es Salaam have been given loans totalling to close to US$7 million by the organisation. Loan sums ranged from US$38 to US$6,250 per individual. FINCA has branches in Uganda, Zambia, South Africa, Malawi, Europe, and Latin America.

But perhaps the most important aspect of women's empowerment is the fact that Tanzania is steadily moving towards incorporating gender perspectives into national plans, in a move to incorporate gender concerns into mainstream development programmes. Mary Mushi, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Community Development, Women Affairs and Children, has said six ministries had so far managed to include gender concerns in their budgets. The ministries are health, education and culture, regional administration and local government, water and livestock development, agriculture and food security, as well as community development, women affairs and children. "Today Africa is in urgent need for rapid transformation. A gender blind constitution, including women's rights, should be abandoned," says Rita Mlaki, Deputy Minister of Commerce and Industry.