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TANZANIA GENDER NETWORKING PROGRAMME (TGNP)

RESEARCH REPORT ON:

CIVIL SOCIETY PARTICIPATION IN THE IMPLEMENTATION BEIJING PLATFORM OF ACTION (BPFA)

Prepared by: Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (TGNP) Convenor & Legal Project Holder P.O. Box 8921 Dar es Salaam Tel. 022-2443.205/450/286 Fax 022-2443.244 E-mail [email protected] Web www.tgnp.co.tz

September 2004

TABLE OF CONTENTS Abbreviations………………………………………………………………………………………… iii Acknowledgement……………………………………………………………………………………. v Executive Summary………………………………………………..……………………...………….vi 1.0 INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………………1 2.0 CONTEXT AT WHICH BEIJING PLATFORM WAS FORMED………………………….. 2 2.1 Rationale for Women Conferences…………………………………………………………………2 2.2 Beijing Platform of Action………………………………………………………………………… 3 3.0 DOCUMENTING RESEARCH………………………………………………………………... 3 3.1 Objectives of Documentation……………………………………………………………………… 4 3.2 Methodology……………………………………………………………………………………….. 4 3.3 Preparation and Tools Development………………………………………………………………..4 4.0 RESEARCH FINDINGS………………………………………………………………………… 5 4.1 Organizational Goals………………………………………………………………………………. 5 4.2 Women Economic Empowerment………………………………………………………………… 5 4.3 Political Empowerment…………………………………………………………………………... 11 4.4 Social Empowerment……………………………………………………………………………... 13 4.5 Violence against Women…………………………………………………………………………. 15 4.6 Policy Advocacy & Enabling Environment……………………………………………………… 16 4.7 Legislative and Legal Instruments Advocacy……………………………………………………. 17 4.8 Girl Child…………………………………………………………………………………………. 18 4.9 Information Right………………………………………………………………………………… 19 5.0 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS……………………………………………………………….... 20 5.1 Positive Trends…………………………………………………………………………………… 20 5.2 Major Achievements………………………………………………………………………………20 5.3 Negative Trends………………………………………………………………………………….. 21 5.4 Recommendations…………………………………………………………………………………22 6.0 WAY FORWARD………………………………………………………………………………..23 ANNEXES NGOs Visited Names of Persons interviewed Research Tool Terms of Reference Report on National Consultative Workshop of Stakeholders

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ABBREVIATION AFNET Anti –Female Genital Mutilation Network AFRIWAG African Women Aids Working Group ANGONET Arusha NGOs Net work BPA Beijing Platform of Action CEDAW Convention for Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women CSOs Civil Society Organizations CSSC Christian Social Services Commission DONET Dodoma Environment Network EAC East Africa Community EFA Education for All ENVIROCARE Environment, Human Rights Care and Gender EOTF Equal Opportunity Tanzania Fund FAWE Female Association of Women Education FEMACT Feminist Activism FEMSA Female Education in Mathematics and Science Association FAWATA Federation for Women Entrepreneurship in Tanzania FGM Female Genital Mutilation GBI Gender Budget Initiative GENDOR The Gender Network in Dodoma Region GTI Gender Training Institute HAPA Health Action Promotion Association HIPC High Indebted Poor Countries ICE Information, Communication Education KATRI Kazan Training and Information Centre KIWAKUK Kilimanjaro Women Group to Fight AIDS. KIWOHEDE Kiota Women Health Development KWIECO Kilimanjaro Women Information Exchange and Consultancy Co. LHRC Legal and Human Rights Centre LISAWE Lindi Support Agency for Women entrepreneurs MASHA Mtwara Action for Self Help Activity. MAWODEA Masasi Women Development Association MCDGC Ministry of Community Development Gender and Children MEUSTA Mpango wa Elimu ya Ukimwi Shuleni Tanga MIGESADO Miradi ya Gesi ya Samadi Dodoma MKUKI Mradi wa Kudhibiti Ukimwi Moshi MOE Ministry of Education NAFGEM Network Against Female Genital Mutilation NEDA Nachingwea Education Development Association NGOs Non–Government Organizations NMB National Micro-finance Bank PEMWA Pure Environment Management and Health Care Women Action PER Public Expenditure Review PHAST Participating Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation PLWA People Living with AIDS PRA Participatory Rural Appraisal PRIDE (T) Promotion of Rural Initiative Development Enterprises (Tanzania)

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PRS Poverty Reaction Strategy PTA Preferential Trade Area ROSDO Rural Oriented Sustainable Development organization RVF Renal-Vaginal Fistula SADC Southern African Development Community SEMA Sustainable Environmental Management Action SOSPA Sexual Offences Special Provision Act STDs Sexual Transmission Diseases SWOT Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and TAMWA Tanzania Media Women Association TAWLA Tanzania Women Layers Association TAWLAE Tanzania Association of Women Leaders in Agriculture and Environment TAWOMA Tanzania Women Miners Association TCRS Tanganyika Christian Refugees Services TEN Tanzania Education Network TFTW Training Fund for Tanzania Women TGNP Tanzania Gender Networking Programme TWG Taaluma Women Group UNICEF United Nation Children Education Fund UNIFPA United National Population Fund URT United Republic of Tanzania VVF Vaginal Fistula WAMATA Walio katika Mapambano na AIDS TANZANIA WAT Women Advancement Trust WID Women in Development WILDAF Women in Law and Development Association WIPE Women Poverty Eradication WIW Women Information Window WODSTA Women Development for Science and Technology Association WOLEA Women and Children Legal Trust WRDP Women Research and Document Project WOWAP Women Wake Up

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This research work is the outcome of a collaborative assessment on the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action. The research was an important step to eminent the work done by the NGOs in Tanzania in implementing the BPFA. We thank the team of researchers, Daudi Kweba and Jovita Mlay who carried the assessment with the support of research assistants and their efforts to produce this assessment All the Staff of TGNP contributed in various ways. We thank them all. We wish to give sincere acknowledgement to the Quality Assurance Team who gave the vision and guidance in this assessment. Lastly, but not least, TGNP would like to acknowledge with appreciation The Italian Government, through its organization, Italian Association For women in Development (AIDOS) for the financial support to carry out such a an assessment and believe that this collaboration will continue in a big perspective. Mary Rusimbi, TGNP Executive Director.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Introduction Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (TGNP) is a gender activist NGO that work for gender equality, and equity, women’s empowerment and social transformation at all levels. In recognition of the vital role played by TGNP, the Ministry of Community Development Gender and Children (MCDGC) through the support of IDOS-Italy has been commissioning TGNP to conduct an assessment and documentation research of civil society organizations participation in the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action (BPA). In 2000 TGNP facilitated the first 5 years of the implementation of BPA by the CSOs mainly based in Dar es Salaam. The outcome of this first 5 years’ assessment was a Newsletter called “Beijing + 5” wherein the NGOs’ implemented activities where documented. This research report on civil society participation in the implementation of BPA is based on NGOs operating in Tanzania mainland only. The study focused on eight areas of Beijing Platform of Action (BPA) namely: Social empowerment, Economic empowerment, Political empowerment, Policy advocacy, Legislative and legal instruments advocacy, Violence against women & girl/child, Health and Information rights. In addition, the study also looked into the organizations’ goals of each NGO to establish their focus in the implementation of the BPA. This study report builds on the similar study conducted earlier to measure the implementation of Beijing +5 in 2000 and hence a yard stick to compare and contrast the degree of implementation status of BPA by NGOs five years after. When a similar assessment was done in 2000, it concentrated on a narrowed assessment to few NGOs based in Dar-es-Salaam mainly within FemAct coalition. This time, the assessment is covering 10 regions out of 21 regions in the mainland. These are Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Tanga, Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, Singida, Lindi, and Mtwara. About 50 NGOs have been visited and interviewed in regard to the implementation of the Beijing Platform of Action. Looking into the goals of the CSOs interviewed, the research found out that there were a growing number of organizations that are well aware of the BPA and have clear and focused implementation to achieve one or several BPA goals. There are also organizations that are not aware or do not want to be associated with BPA yet they have some project targeted to women empowerment. While it was important to take stock of the awareness towards implementing BPA it should be noted that no matter whether NGOs are aware or not aware in implementing BPA, the important thing to single out is whether CSOs in Tanzania are contributing to fight inequality in the society in order to achieve equitable and sustainable development for both women and men. Implementation of BPA Context Civil society organizations implementing the BPA, operates in different and changing social –economic context such as geographical and cultural dynamics, rural and urban population settings, HIV/AIDS and the increase of female headed household that have a direct bearing impact on implementing the BPA to achieve women empowerment at all spheres of life.

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For instance, in the existing legal frameworks and its instruments together with cultural socialization trends that allow early marriages in Tanzania, one will find that the majority of the population which consists of youths especially young girls a negatively affected in different ways in their tender age. An example is the Marriage Act of 1971, which allow girls less than 18 years to be married. This affects the younger generation and explains why the fertility rate is high at 6.5% and the growth rate of 6.8 % every year. The trend is contributed to by early marriages and early pregnancies, which on the other hand have direct implication to the workload, to unpaid labour and ultimately to disempowerment of women. It thus imperative to discuss the gender limitation of the cherished and existing legal and cultural frameworks, which have underlying causes in disempowering women. Inequalities in household income earnings and distribution, extrapolated in national budget allocations affects women in different ways. According to the research findings, Tanzania is said to have 50% of its population with an average income of 16% below the national poverty line. Majority of people living below poverty line are women. Some of the religious structures do push women in periphery while most of the decisions being made behind the curtains by patriarchy men. Although there are some of the religious women groups who have been very active in implementing the BPA, some conservative religious beliefs have been constraining women in pursuing gender equality and equity. Women in decision making is one of the BPA issues of concern. On 8th May 1992, Tanzania adopted a multi-party system of democracy. The Constitution was amended to accommodate the shift to multi-party system (Act 4 of 1992). However, inequality between men and women in decision making still reigns. Political parties continue to be patriarchy and gender insensitive. The year 2005 will make one decade since the Beijing Declaration and its subsequent Platform for Action (BPA) was declared in 1995. The 12 priority areas in the BPA still called for international, regional, national, states, governments and civil society actors to take active roles as a whole in implementation processes to realize the set goals. In Tanzania, both the government and CSOs, particularly gender groups consciously consolidated their objectives and focus towards implementing the Beijing Platform of Action (BPA) priority areas. Other many civil society organizations came up with project elements that led to the implementation of the BPA. The government prioritized within four (4) priority issues namely; Economic Empowerment, Education and Training, Legal Capacity and Human Rights and Political Empowerment, while the civil societies even identified two additional areas beyond the 12 critical areas of concern. These include: Women and Media, and Reproductive Health and spread out to implement almost all the areas of concern Assessment of the NGOs implementation of the Beijing Declaration aims to inform different stakeholders at what milestones they stand in women empowerment movement. The overall objective of this documentation research conducted by Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (TGNP) is to contribute to the process of developing Tanzanian NGOs/CBOs Report for the implementation of the Beijing Platform of Action (BPA).

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The methodologies developed and used included development of the information collection tool, review of all annual reports and other publications produced by CSOs, consultations and discussions with CSOs’ key actors and feed-back. The report consolidates the finding with mentioning here and there some of the NGOs as model examples. Otherwise, details of the implementation of the Beijing Platform of Action will be covered in the specific NGO’s activity in the newsletter. Major Findings On Organisation’s Goals, it was learnt that most women led NGOs in the regions are well informed of the BPA and their organizations’ goals and objectives are focusing on one or several priority areas cited in the BPA. However, their articulation levels differ from NGO to NGO and from region to region. For example in Arusha out of the 10 NGOs contacted only one (WODSTA) a women led organization, clearly explained its organizational goals and objectives focused to empower women. In Dar es Salaam region for example, where many NGOs were visited, it was interesting to learn that out of 21 NGOs visited and interviewed, only 10 of them were well informed of the BPA and their organization’s goals and objectives focus to empower women & the girl child in one or several BPA priority areas such as economic empowerment (TGNP, WTF, PRIDE (T), women legal rights, (TAWLA, LHRC, WLAC etc), Education (Hakielimu, FAWE), on Health status of women (Women Dignity), Information rights of women (TAMWA) etc. Interesting was the fact that these 10 organizations 9 are led by women. On Social Empowerment, many NGOs activities and engagements in the regions are found in this area. For example the 5 NGOs in Kilimanjaro, are engaged in social services delivery in education (MAADILI, KWIECO, NAFGEM), health (HIV/AIDS) MKUKI), agriculture & environment (ENVIROCARE) etc. In Lindi and Mtwara regions, 5 out of the 6 visited NGOs are engaged in social empowerment, while in Iringa almost all the 8 NGOs are actively engaged in social empowerment focusing orphans in access to primary and a bit of secondary education, access to health service to orphans and widows by paying medication costs. One thing that the study established is that, the social services delivery activities undertaken by NGOs focus on small segment of the population and leave the majority not accessible with the services. For instance FEMSA has been supporting girls in science subject, while in rural areas still girls fails not in taking science subjects, but even to continue with their secondary education for either not being selected to join secondary schools or because of affordability. A live case was reported in TANGA where, neither the MOEC nor the local government was ready to support the AFRIWAG orphans initiatives. Of current, there is a growing number of girls and boys who qualify to join secondary schools but do not find a place. There have been a number of challenges in these organizations, one is lack of NGOs capacity in forming strategic coalitions and in lobbying the relevant authorities for social rights such as education, health, water etc. Secondly is lack of integration. Very few NGOs mostly religions ones, like CARITAS, Christian Social Services Commission (CSSC) etc. have managed to have integrated projects that aim to socially empower women. MIGESADO – a biogas project NGO in Dodoma is

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one exemplary of an integrated social services delivery approach that aims to address, energy, water, and nutritional issues in the rural biogas projects. However, it suffers from dependability thus its sustainability and extensive rural expansion is at a dilemma. In Economical Empowerment, one of the area that has been approached holistically by some of the NGOs, especially the gender activists, is the area of economic policy advocacy, that has enabled some of the national NGOs like TGNP and FemAct coalition to influence Gender Budgeting Initiatives, the Land right, the PRS, and the PER. The essence has been to demand for more resources to address and empower women rights and the rights of other marginalized groups. At micro levels, many of the economic activities that have been supported by NGOs focusing women are in the areas of credits facility schemes for projects like, textile, handcrafts, food vending and processing, chicken, pig, goat rearing, diary cattle rearing and vegetable gardening. Support to Trade Fair such as what EOTF has been doing have helped women entrepreneurs to access wider internal and external markets and improve qualities of their products and learning new skills from other participants. The only handicap is that most of these economic activities are more – urban concentrated especially where electricity is available. Rural areas are yet to benefit on NGOs economic activities. Even (PRIDE (T)) which was rural focused by its nature of its name is still urban centred. One other big challenge with the women economic empowerment is limited to small-scale enterprises and farming. Generally women lack medium enterprises and big economic empowerment or access of external markets such as AGOA arrangements. Specifically the government especially at this context of the policy of free markets has not done deliberate efforts to support women. Barriers in access to big market still hinder women from penetrating and breaking through economically. On Political Empowerment, there is still very few women who hold top positions in political parties, in the government and public sectors. Very few NGOs are bold enough to advocate and demand the political rights of women at all levels. In Dar es Salaam region, out of 21 organizations interviewed only 5 indicated some programmes interventions focused to empower woman in political positions from village to national levels. In Arusha only 4 NGOs out of 10 have some civic and voter education activity programmes around elections period. While in Kilimanjaro there are 3 out of 5 and Dodoma 2 out of 6 NGOs interviewed. The political intervention programmes are more concentrated during the elections periods in the form of civic and voter education conducted by NGOs during that time. An organization like TGNP has broadened its programmes to influence the gender mainstreaming in both electoral and political parties to have deliberate efforts to empower women. However, organizations like ForDIA and PORIS are mainly concentrating on political empowerment. On Policy Change Advocacy, participatory approaches and involvement of people in policy formulation have been cherished by many NGOs. However, there has been limitation in policy dialogue environment that allows different stakeholders at different levels to contribute and have ownership in policy formulation processes and ownership. There is a growing number of NGOs that have programmes that aims at empowering different groups of people to influence policies for alternative change in various development spheres. Most of

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the NGOs engaged in policy advocacy are mainly in Urban especially in Dar es Salaam, Arusha and Kilimanjaro. (Annex 1) For instance TGNP and FemAct coalition have been engaged in gender budgeting initiative aimed at changing policies around national budgeting processes to take on board gender dimensions from policy, to planning, budget guidelines to allocations levels and the PER or the debt issue led by TCCD, PRSP by TGNP /FemAct, and NGO policy group. Very NGOs in the regions are engaged in policy advocacy. This may be attributed to lack of systematic participatory policy formulation processes that brings on board all stakeholders and the general public. NGOs that have a national coverage are mostly engaged in policy advocacy like TGNP/FemAct, TAMWA, TANGO, TASOET, Haki Elimu etc. On Legislative and Legal Instrument Advocacy, a number of NGOs in Dar es Salaam specifically Lawyers and Human Rights Associations such as LHRC, WLAC, WILDPF, TAWLA, TAMWA and ENVIROCARE have been playing a vital role in leading other networks to influencing legislatives and legal instrument to protect women and children. A number of NGOs have been even representing women and children in courts of law to demand their rights. These include organizations such as TAWLA, WLAC, TAMWA, and LHRC. Most of these NGOs have established constituents in the regions, where para legal units have been established and run to help women and children in legal matters. WLAC branch in Morogoro region is one of the examples of extended para legal services. (Annex 1) Recent passed legislatives and laws such as the SOSPA (1998), Land and Village Act (1999), and NGO Act (2003) have been pioneered and led the advocacy by these NGOs while other NGOs have been raising awareness at different levels. On Violence against Women, almost all women led NGOs have been fighting violence against women in one way or another. Cases of violence against women include wife battery, rape, sexual harassment, sexual corruption, FGM, killings of old women under the pretext of witchcraft etc. The enactment of the Sexual Offence Special Provision Act commonly known as SOSPA in 1998 is the results of gender activists fighting violence against women and children. NGOs such as TAMWA, AFNET, ENVIROCARE and LHRC have been engaged in different campaigns for stopping FGM – a worst violence done to women in many Tanzania societies and in Africa as a whole. TAMWA stand boldly to date fighting old women killings in Shinyanga and Mwanza regions.( Annex 1) On Health, There are few NGOs that are addressing health issues such as issues of cancer and VVF such as MEWATA and Women Dignity. This research unfortunately did not sample MEWATA because of their nature of activities that would not allow space for this study. However, organizations taking gender and pro-poor perspective such as TGNP, ENVIROCARE, address the issue of health in a more holistic manner rather than taking it as a single health issue. For example, TGNP is in operationalization of a campaign that links the whole issue of gender, policy, resource and HIV/AIDS as just an entry point to address health related and other issues.

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On Information Right, women have been denied the right to information for centuries. Their double or triple role at the household level, poor economic status have left women less and less informed on many issues including their basic rights. Information is power and women have had been missing this power. NGOs in Tanzania have been making deliberate efforts to reach the majority through a number of ways including awareness raising programmes, print and electronic media, popular media and public rallies/demonstrations. (Annex 1) In conclusion, we would like to give some positive trend and negative trends in implementing the BPFA. Some of the Positive Trends are;

1. Unlike the government which identified only four areas out of the 12 as stipulated in the BPA, NGOs implementation activities covers all the 12 areas in different capacities and focus. Issues of Reproductive health and women and media have been added to the list of CSOs’ engagement.

2. Many of the gender oriented organizations and woman groups have been

implementing the BPA well informed and steadily. Other NGOs have been doing that unconsciously especially the service oriented NGOs, while some were compelled to have gender components in their programmes strategically although with limited articulation.

3. Most organizations visited are aware of the essence of having equality between

women and men as equal partners and the essence of empowering women and the girl child. Water and sanitation, reproductive health, environmental services etc. have significant impact on the daily life of women and the girl child.

4. Worth to be documented is the fact that the Beijing Declaration has shaped the civil

society in Tanzania. Notably, the visibility of the civil society in the country owes much from the gender and women organizations that challenging the status quo of the patriarch system and works towards gender transformation at all levels.

5. Gender and women organizations continued to mobilize social participation on a

campaigns on equitable resource allocation with gender perspectives, poverty reduction strategies, the sexual offences, land rights, female genital mutilation, and the plight of women and other marginalized segment of the Tanzanian the NGO policy and legislation etc. are some of the examples that NGOs has played a great role and make impact.

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Some of the Negative Trends are:

1. There is a challenge of globalization, Structural Adjustment Programme to implementing BPA. Whereas Beijing calls for equality and accountability, Globalization trends and SAP are likely complying to inequality and the withdrawal of government support that leaves the majority women poor in abject poverty.

2. The institutionalisation of the NGO Act is a challenge to the development and

implementation of the BPA. At the same time the dependence of NGOs to outside external support is a big risk, the government of Tanzania doesn’t support NGOs although they are doing parallel activities, and are requested to be accountable by the Act.

3. As the years go by, the wave and vigor of the Beijing Declaration fades away, while

the goals are still far fetching. Some of the gains reached are eroded by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, low capacity of NGOs at the grass-root level and donor dependence programmes.

4. Previously gender and women issues attracted funding from different external

sources. NGOs could implement their programme comfortably and push the agenda further. Today the priority may have shifted to somewhere else. Many of NGOs programmes and activities are swayed by the funding flow. The HIV/AIDS has taken the priority, but again, because of the limited gender capacities, there is no link of HIV/AIDS and Gender.

5. Two things came out clearly in this study. One is the observation that NGOs and

CBOs in the rural-urban areas are more engaged in social delivery services while the national urban are engaged in policy level issues. The main gap here is the linkage of the services and policy issues.

6. Tanzania was privileged to take the Secretary General ship-a leading position during

the 1995 Beijing Conference and a Coordinator at the Special UN meeting on Women during the Beijing +5. These could be a motivation to Tanzania to perform a role model in implementing BPA, Tanzania is not doing that much. The fire of “Bringing Beijing Home” has faded away.

As recommendation, we have focused on the following;

1. There must be deliberate effort to challenge policy issues that hinder lobbying and advocating for progressive policy changes.

2. Enhance/build the gender approaches and analysis skills for programmes that links to

the contemporary challenges of the world i.e. macroeconomic policies, globalization, SAPs poverty, HIV/AIDS, unemployment, terrorism, global warming, displacement and wars. Popularize BPA across all NGOs at different levels. Along with this, short and long term evaluation of BPA process should be taking place.

3. Given the current general status of the BPA there is a need for the NGO to reflect

more and more how to make the BPFA a reality.

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4. There is a need for popularizing of BPA priority areas and committing those in power

to take appropriate measures is paramount. For instance, performances of political party in power and those on the waiting list should be evaluated and attested along the BPA.

5. Need for mentoring young women and men on gender, equality and equity issues.

This process is important to ensure wide social movement. Youth support and social movement are critical towards achieving the Beijing goals.

6. Capacities of NGOs for effective implementation of the BPA need to be enhanced.

BPA articulation and institutionalization in NGOs plans and programmes particularly those at the grass-root level need to be promoted and strengthened.

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I.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Geographical context Tanzania forms a United Republic that includes mainland (the former Tanganyika) and Zanzibar covering 945,085 sq. km. the largest in Eastern Africa. It is almost twice the size of France. It borders Zambia Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, on west and northwest, Uganda and Kenya on the north, Mozambique and Malawi on the south. Tanzania is multi lingual, with approximately 120 ethnic groups with different accents, customary practices, values and systems which determine largely the position and condition of women and men in this country. The majority of the Tanzanians speak Kiswahili. For the purpose of this study, the discussions on the status of the implementation of BPA will be concentrated on Tanzania mainland only.

1.2. Demographic context

According to the 2002 population census, Tanzania has a total of 34.4 million people, 17.8 are women and 16,6 are men. Tanzania’s population is growing very fast, with a higher percentage of young generation (40 % of the population being under 15 years of age.) This is because of the high birth rate although the death rate has also increased. An annual rate is 2.8. The urban population is growing rapidly, at the rate of 6.8 percent every year. This gives us an implication that women are burdened with heavy workload of both reproductive and productive and household activities. The country’ s law of marriage (Marriage Act, 1971,) as quoted also by TGNP/SARDIC 1997, (Beyond Inequality) allows marriage for girls at a tender age of 15 years old and that of boys at an age of 18 years old. The fertility rate of 6.5 may be attributed to this. Early marriages, which are on the increase, are also an attribute of teenage pregnancy. The law does neither allows pregnant girls to continue with schooling nor after delivery. This contributes to an increase in more girls leaving school and an increase in poverty level among women. There are no serious efforts to engage men in family planning and reproductive health programs and hence women continue to shoulder this responsibility alone. 1. 3. Social context The Tanzania’s Budget Household Survey, 2002 indicated an increase in female-headed households. About 13% of households are headed by women with an average size of 5.1 household members compared to 6.8% for male-headed households. Although the study on further analysis (TGNP and Macro Gender Policy Working Group study on “Further Analysis of the Female Headed Households, 2003”) did not show a very negative poverty status of such household, the fact is that female-headed households on average are poorer and less able to save. This is true because women in most Tanzania societies are not decision makers nor own much of the family/clan resources. Families headed by women are vulnerable and constrained with inheritance law which bars them from owning spouses resources. It is important to bring out also the religious context because in many cases, religious structures have pushed women in periphery while most of the decisions have been made

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behind the curtains by few patriarchy men. Some extreme religious fundamentalism and money flows have been constraining women in pursuing gender equality and equity in physical and spiritual matters. 1.4. The Economic Context Tanzania is said to have 50% of its population with an average income of 16% below the national poverty line. Therefore, about half of all Tanzanians live in poverty, while, 36 percent live in absolute poverty. With further desegregation, you find that approximately 59 % of the rural population is poor. Tanzania has a population of about 34.4 millions (2002 National census). If you take that more than 80% of Tanzania’s population is rural, one will find that about 85 percent of all the poor people are found in rural areas and majority are women. Looking at the urban population, it is said that approximately 39 percent of it, is also poor. Tanzania is ranked as one among the poorest countries of the world despite the fact that it has a wealth of natural resources, some of it more than any other country in the world. 1.5. Political context Women in decision making is one of the PFA issue of concern. It is important to analyze the political context at this point because it has an influence in the democratization opportunities and women empowerment in decision making at all levels. The gender analytical approach also can measure the level of democratization in systems, structures and the decision-making structures. Until the year 1992, Tanzania had one party system of democracy. In 1992, there was a constitutional amendment (Act 4 of 1992) to accommodate multi party democracy. Tanzania had the first multi party elections in 1995. The multi-partism has however witnessed more and more struggles for party space than the empowering of women for political positions. Most political parties established continued to remains patriarchy with limited gender Transformative policies that elevate both men and women in political positions on equal footings. Most of the efforts therefore of empowering women have been supported by some NGOs and few donor led processes. In this way, we find very few of women candidates coming out publicly to compete on unlevelled and harsh political grounds influenced by culture and corruption things that exclude women. 2.0 THE CONTEXT AT WHICH BEIJING PLATFORM FOR ACTION WAS

FORMED. 2.1 Rational for Women Conferences Inequality between men and women and in particular women discrimination in decision making, in ownership and access is a phenomena that led to different international discussions and deliberation as a struggle for equality, equity, women’s empowerment and gender transformation. Concrete struggle to emancipate women began almost thirty (30) years ago when the first International Women Conferences was held in Mexico. After each meeting, there have been different declarations that called for governments of the world to act upon. At least, there have been four such meetings since 1975 when the first meeting was held in Mexico.


2.2 Beijing Platform for Action. In 1995, the fourth World Women Conference was held in Beijing China, that came out with clearly defined declaration and thereafter referred to as the Beijing Declaration that called for the world’s governments to make commitment to implement them. 2005 will be ten years since the Beijing Declaration and its declared Platform for Action (PFA) The PFA came out with 12 priority/focus areas that called for international, regional, national, states, governments and civil society organizations to take active roles in the whole spheres of the implementation process to realize the set goals. The twelve priority /focus areas included; In Tanzania, both the government machinery, (Ministry of Community Development Gender and Children) and civil society organizations particularly gender groups consciously consolidated their objectives towards implementation of the Beijing Platform of Action (BPFA) priority areas. There are many other civil society organizations that came out with objectives that unconsciously led to the implementation of the BPFA. However, the government of Tanzania prioritized within four (4) priority issues namely; Economic Empowerment, Education and Training, Legal Capacity and Human Rights, as well as Political Empowerment. In addition to these four areas of concern, the civil societies identified two additional areas out the 12 critical areas of concern. These include: Women and Media, and Reproductive Health. While the NGOs spread out to implement almost all the areas of concern with clear implementation of BPA while others have some project elements that targets women e.g. access to water and efficiency alternative energy utilization. 3.0 THE STUDY/DOCUMENTING RESEARCH This study is purely reflecting the civil society implementation of BPA for the past ten years, although actually the study should really have been a measure of thirty years of the implementation of World Women Declarations. This is also the second study done within the ten years of BPA to reflect the implementation of the BPA. The first such study was carried out in 2000 for the Beijing + 5. While the Beijing +5 limited its study to organizations within the Feminist Activism Coalition (FemAct), this study, covers a wider coverage to include samples from ten regions( 10) in 3 zones, of Tanzania covering 10 regions out of 21 regions in Tanania mainland. The regions are Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Tanga, Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, Singida, Lindi, Mtwara, Morogoro and Iringa. Within the FemAct, there has been a considerable growth in the number of organizations and in activities that have been carried both consciously and unconsciously to implement the Beijing Platform for Action. Whereas in 2000, there were about 25 FemAct organizations, at the moment there are over 38 organizations. Assessment of the NGOs implementation of the Beijing declaration aims to inform different stakeholders at what milestones we stand in women empowerment movement. About 50 NGOs were visited and interviewed in regard to the implementation of the Beijing Platform of Action on the 12 focus areas.


3.1 Objectives of the Documentation Research The overall objective of this documentation research is to contribute to the process of developing Tanzanian NGOs/CBOs Report after 10 year’s of implementation of the Beijing Platform of Action (BPFA). 3.2 Methodology This documentation research collected and analyzed information on what has been implemented by NGOs/CSOs to achieve the set goals in the BFA. Therefore the methodologies developed and used included:

(i) Development of the research tools, (ii) Collection and review of all annual reports, activity reports and other publications

produced by NGOs/CBOs, (iii) Consult and interviewed NGOs/CBOs key actors in the organizations using the

guided documentation tool prepared, (iv) Conduct a feedback session to identify additional gaps, which might have not

been identified during the visits to organisations. (v) Presentation to the Quality Assurance Team (QA) for guided quality of the study.

3.3 Preparations and tools development The first planning meeting was held in August 2003. In this meeting, the purpose and objectives of the documentation research was shared among different stakeholders and the research team. Mapping of the research areas was done and information on where and how TGNP would conduct the research was gathered. This session was also used to make clarification on how the exercise would receive inputs. Two main researchers were identified, and become part of the planning and development of the research tools. One of these two persons was identified as a lead person The two researches were to identify assistant research persons not exceeding six as they started the actual research work. A concretely final mapping of the organizations to be visited was done by utilizing the database from TGNP and other network sources (appendix no.1) and prepared letters of introduction. Tools and methodology were developed and shared further within the quality assurance team to suit the objectives of the documentation research.


4.0 RESEARCH FINDINGS The concentration of this research based on eight priority areas out of the twelve BFA. However, reference is also made here and there on the other four areas. The findings were conceptualized under the following eight priority areas as listed below.

(i) Organisation’s Goals (ii) Economic empowerment, (iii) Political empowerment, (iv) Social empowerment, (v) Violence against women (vi) Policy advocacy, Policy Enabling Environment. (vii) Legislative and legal instruments advocacy, (viii) Girl/child, (ix) Environment and (x) Information rights

4.1 Organisations, Goals As a general observation, many organizations are implementing activities directly linked to the BPA priority issues, although not necessarily very much aware of BPA as such. The outstanding thing is that the issues implemented are pertinent and called for a certain intervention to address the existing social and economic inequalities among men and women. Contrary to the general observation above, most of the gender and women led NGOs in the regions are well informed and aware of the BPA and their organizations’ goals and objectives are focused on one or several priority areas cited in the BPA. However, there is still a conceptual weakness/gap of many of these organizations in linking with the BPA issues. There is big gap in linking information to many of the issues they work in, and this difference is found from region to region visited. For example, the level of articulation of gender issues and how they link with BPA, differ also from one NGO to another, and from region to region. For example in Arusha out of the 10 NGOs contacted only one (WODSTA) clearly explained its organizational goals and objectives focused to empower women. WODSTA is women led organization. In urban areas such as Dar es Salaam region where many NGOs were visited especially the gender and specific women focus organizations, almost half of them were well informed of the BPA and their organization’s goals and objectives focus to empower women, the girl child and the poor marginalized in one or several BPA priority areas. For example, economic empowerment TGNP, (PRIDE (T) WAT, women legal rights (TAWLA, LHRC, WLAC etc), Education (FAWE, TAALUMA, Hakielimu), on health status of women (Women Dignity, MEWATA), gender violence and information rights of women (TAMWA), environment (ENVIROCARE, TAWLAE ) etc. We must admit that this list is not exhaustive.

4.2Women’s Economic Empowerment

The economic history of women in Tanzania is obvious, that women in Tanzania own less of the economic wealth and property although they are the main producers. For example, in agriculture, 80% of the rural farming is done by women, but have less power to the production they make. Women forms the majority of the population in Tanzania ( 51% ) and


as we have noted they form the main economic actors by engaging in production of wealth, goods and services as well as playing the role of reproduction of human labour. However, their contribution has been considered as insignificant because they are not given a monetary term. Studies have shown how women labour, regardless of the maximum contribution they make to the economy, is not fully recognized in the national accounting system and therefore they are not rewarded (in GDP their work is not added to the calculation of the GDP.) Women economic empowerment is one of the critical areas emphasized in the BPFA and the government committed herself to the advancement of it.

In reviewing the status of ten years of Beijing Platform for Action, we recognize considerable progress /achievement, although considerably, challenges are still there to be addressed in a better way so as to achieve more on this area of women economic empowerment and poverty. The Major Progress/Achievements: 1. The Policy Commitment One of the biggest achievement made in women economic empowerment is at policy level. Where NGO’s initiated the Gender Budgeting initiative as a lobbying initiative developed as part of the vision of reviewing and influencing the conceptual paradigms particularly among policy makers, economists statisticians and researchers to adopt more progressive and gender responsive approaches. Gender Budgeting is an approach aimed at addressing the whole issue of macro economic frameworks, the planning and budgeting to take gender approach. It calls for more allocation of budgets to address the long overdue and persisting economic gaps between women and men and calls for equity strategies to address the gaps and advance women economic empowerment. Gender budgeting calls for more allocation of the resources to the social sectors where women are the key players, such as accessibility to safe and clean water, health services and reproductive health, safe motherhood. It calls for more resources to support women educational status to enable them take up well paid and decision making jobs. Through lobbying, the research done and further advocacy around the Gender Budgeting, the government has started to institutionalize it in its planning, budgeting, allocating and monitoring the utilization of the budgets .The government has began with six priority sectors, although it facilitated an orientation to gender budgeting in all the sectors. The six sectors consists of mainly social sectors, such as Health, Education and Water. The other sector is Agriculture, where most of the women are economically engaged as producers. The government has also directed the initiative to be implemented at the Local Government levels where Local government councils are increasingly receiving more budget allocations. It is expected that within this context, women priorities and especially the economic advancement of women would take a priority. Today, as gender budgeting becomes a government policy approach that aims at distributing national budget more equitable and address the economic empowerment of women, gender and human rights organizations continue with lobbying and advocating for more gender and human rights perspective in resource mobilization, budgeting, allocation and accountability in utilization. However, as a process, tangible results are yet to be seen.


2. The PRSP PRSP is also another angle for directing more national resources to the social sectors. The gender and human rights organization pushed in for the gender and pro-poor approach of the PRS, both in the PRS I and the on-going review of the PRSII, The government did take up consideration of the gender and pro-poor even though the tangible results are yet to be seen , but at least there is the commitment. The fact that the Government accepted the gender approach of the PRS indicates a commitment to allocate more resources for the gender and women needs. This is an angle also where more efforts should be made for raising the women economic empowerment through education, health and water accessing. The PRS was also popularized by HakiKazi. 3. Women Rights in Land Act of 1999 Land is the main economic resource in Tanzania, and more than 80 % of the women work on land. From 1996-1999 the CSOs in collaboration with the Ministry of the then Community Development, Women Affairs and Children fought for about three years to make the Act gender sensitive and promote women rights. The struggle was to get women own the major country’s economic resource, the Land. The Land Act of 1999 was quite progressive on the part of women. As noted above, women are the main key players on Land, but have been using land without owning it. By the 1999 Land Law, women can own land. If women get all other support, to realize more production and avail them to more reliable and accessible to markets, women are likely to earn more and raise their economic empowerment. The review of the Land Law of 2004 made some step down the gains made in 1999. The pressure by the banks on reviewing some clauses for mortgage is regrettable. 4. Reviewing Inheritance Laws The CSO have also worked on the issue of inheritance. Much efforts have been put on the review of the existing law of inheritance, that deny the women’s rights to inheritance and already preliminary activities have been done to review it. Some progress has been made already and the advocacy around it has necessitated the draft proposal to be considered to be sent to the cabinet. This is considered as economically empowering women, but also breaking the chains of exploitative and marginalizing traditional and cultural laws. 5. Credits Support to Women In the past 10 years of implementing Beijing Platform for Action, there has been a considerable progress in supporting women in economic activities. Many of the economic activities that have been supported by NGOs focused in giving women credits facility schemes for projects like, textile, handcrafts, food vending and processing, chicken, pig, goat rearing, diary cattle rearing and vegetable gardening. Some others have been for improving their lightning like bio-gas, and modernized stoves that use less and less of the charcoals or those use the saw dust. Those in the rural areas takes credit to engage in horticultural farming, dairy cattle keeping, poultry keeping, grain milling and construction of dwelling houses.


6. The Establishment of Credits via the Banks Crew Tanzania which is placed within the Ministry ( CDG&C) have helped women experience in handling loans and have supported them to raise themselves to some extent, their economic empowerment The funds have also contributed to networking and exchanging of economic development ideas among different groups of different level of economic development. 7. Micro-enterprise and Micro-Finance One of the activities conducted by NGOs and some small groups are around the Micro-finance that includes credit and deposits, savings and all forms of financial services. This has empowered women in a substantial manner. The micro-finance sector includes both bank and non-bank institutions mostly NGOs and women took them to invest in tailoring, food vending, sales of second hand clothing, hair saloons, restaurants and poultry keeping, for those in urban areas. Those in the rural areas took credit to engage in horticultural farming, dairy cattle keeping, poultry keeping, grain milling and construction of dwelling houses. 8. Financial NGOs These have been adapting, creating and applying innovative products in their micro-finance operations. Such NGOs include, Promotion of Rural Initiative and Development Enterprises (PRIDE), Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA), Network of Small Farmers Groups in Tanzania (MVIWATA) and Traditional Irrigation Improvement Program (TIP). Others are, Small Enterprises Development Agency (SEDA), Credit Scheme for Productive Activities (CREW), Tanzania Women Finance Company (TWFC), Tanzania Promotion of Self-Employment (TAPSE), Tanzania Micro-entrepreneurs Association (TAMEA) and Poverty Africa. Other associations like Meda operates in Mbeya and Dar es Salaam, mainly target women and micro entrepreneurs who lack access to commercial bank loan and also lack collateral. Yet others which have been operating are Savings and Credit Associations (SACA) NGOs mostly are managing funds that is coming from external donors and to a limited extent, internal supporters. Others are grassroots financial associations including savings and credit cooperative societies (SACCOs), Savings and Credit Associations (SACAs), Solidarity Groups (SG) and Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs). SACAs are both urban and rural grassroots financial institutions. Women are more active in SACCAS SACAs however seem to have great potential for mobilization of resources and funding economic activities especially in the rural areas because they are locally based, and rely on local financing.The SACCOs of Moshi in Kilimanjaro are some of the most advanced in Tanzania. The amount they mobilize is by far superior to others in the country. Other grassroots financial organizations include Solidarity Groups (SGs). In Tanzania the solidarity group’s concept was encouraged by NGOs, international organizations and the government to facilitate micro-credit delivery process. Generally groups have between three to six persons, because there is need to have trust among the members as the group has to be the guarantor of its loans. There are a few SGs with many members, sometimes more than a


hundred. They apply to schemes such as those dealing with irrigation where you need a large number of members to pay for the infrastructure. The other form of grassroots financial organization is the Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs). These groups, which are popularly known as "UPATU" involve mostly women. These are usually informal and based on mutual trust. Members make equal periodic, (weekly, fortnightly or monthly) contributions to a common fund and the total contribution of each period is paid to one of the members in turn.

The ROSCAs are usually informal and based on mutual trust, they do not have written rules which makes it difficult to take legal action when a member default. Usually UPATU is a problem when it involves big groups not small groups of friends. As a general observation we can say the amount of capital mobilized by these grassroots financial organizations is quite limited. The possible exception here is Kilimanjaro where its SACCOs are very active and effective. There is however great potential for these organizations to join more formal financial organizations especially in both the urban and rural areas.

Micro-enterprise is a critical area of development especially for a like Tanzania, which is largely non-industrial. Micro-enterprises, some which are referred as the informal sector, offer employment to a significant number of urban people particularly women hence contribute to GDP. In the rural sector micro-enterprises are an opportunity for moving beyond subsistence production. 9. Opportunity to Trade Also, there has been efforts to expose women entrepreneurship in trade. The majority of these women have managed to participate in local trade fair opportunities such as the Dar-es-Salaam International Trade Fair, The Mwalimu Nyerere Trade Fair and other Festivals that have exhibition components such as the Gender and Human Rights Festivals hosted by a number of organizations, or at the conferences, tourist centres and others of the like. Some of the women have advanced in this stage and do manage to participate in other sub-regional and regional trade fair opportunities such as The East African, The SADC Trade Fair. Some of the women are advanced and participate in the International Trade Fairs although they are a few in number and are isolated. But more and more women are now engaging in businesses, although some other businesses burden them more There are a number of organizations that have been facilitating these women economic groups to participate in these trade fairs especially in the Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair. These opportunities have enhanced the capacities of women entrepreneurship in accessing wide markets and learning new skills from other participants to improve the quality of their products and access internal and external markets. Tourist centres have become centres of attraction to women produced goods and this help spread the information on the goods prepared by women for markets.


Challenges These advancements have had considerable limitation because most of these activities are more – urban oriented / concentrated especially where electricity is available, where raw materials are easily accessed and markets are readily available. In this context the majority of rural women, economic empowerment is still a nightmare and it is because they are not distributed in many dispersed. Most of the rural areas are yet to benefit more on NGOs economic activities. Even Promotion of Rural Initiative Development Enterprises (PRIDE (T)) which was rural focused by its nature of its name is skill urban centred. The interest and need of women to economically empower themselves is very high in rural and urban areas. This is evidenced by the turn up of women seeking credit facilities from different NGOs/private sector offering the service. For instance although PRIDE (T) credit facility did not target women, and we can say it is not consciously implementing the BPA, but it came to learn later that more than 68% of their customers were women. This is directly implementing the PFA. Had PRIDE (T) been BPA focused, more women and their economic access problems could be solved in a great extent. This can be rated as an advantage or a challenge too. One other big challenge is that women economic empowerment or thrive of it in the majority of women is limited to small scale enterprises. There is generally very limited /lack women medium enterprises and big economic empowerment, as we have seen above. For instance in shareholding and buying big companies in this era of privatization, in accessing external markets such as AGOA arrangements. In the end, credits or this small scale enterprise are very constraining to women who have to put more effort , work hard and really constraint the women, They add up to the heavy women workload and overburden them.

Male dominance is still a challenge too in big economic enterprises and patriarchy barriers in access to big market still hinder women from penetrating and break through economically. Although the implementation status show considerable progress, there are still quite a number of challenges that needs the government to strategically address in this area of women economic empowerment and address the women poverty. The following are key: Policy issues

• The government policy commitment on gender budgeting needs to be strengthened through the adoption of the approach in all the sectors.

• The government needs to reflect again on the impact of the current economic policy framework (globalization/privatization of services etc) (A research done by SADC region show women and girls have not benefited from SAPs, instead SAPs have seriously affected the direction of expenditure to the social sector services of health, education, sectors that women and girls derive great benefit from,) so as to determine how women will benefit more economically. Currently, they continue to suffer under the increasing poverty and the HIV/AIDS.


The PRS • Emphasis should not be only on selected priority sectors, Women economic

advancement is sector wide issue. • Debt servicing and SAPs conditionality have disproportionately harmed women more

than anybody else, because they have forced women to adopt , additional mechanisms for economic survival.

• HIV/AIDS is adversely affecting women economic empowerment processes. Women are the care providers and drain all the resources they have and time use to care for the HIV/AIDS patients who are sent back to them without any support. The government should be responsible for their care. There should be more government funds/resources given to hospitals, and health centres to care for the HIV/AIDS victims instead of sending them to the household level. The victims are women at the household who leaves out their small economic activities to care for the sick. .

Women Credits; • Women credits have been the main constrain to women and those who have no any

other economic activity. This is because credits provided on small scale and at times make women slaves of the funds with limited profit or advancement made. We need to create substantial loans that will make women invest on bigger projects like the mining, industries, big investments that obviously women can manage better than constraining them with these small credits, which make them literally slaves. There should be support to advance women in trade, because women often endure dehumanizing conditions as they strive to supplement their family income.

• Women have remained locked into micro-finance, small-scale loans and income generating projects. These can not uplift the economic status of women, rather they have made them slaves.

The micro-enterprises The micro-enterprises however have problems in getting access to credit. Constraints here include lack of collateral, high interest rates and inability to meet indirect costs of borrowing, such as bribes. Others are lack of knowledge of project writing, lack of marketing, high cost of raw materials and high taxes. In the same survey 94% of the households needed to borrow for diverse economic activities. Those who showed no demand for credit were too poor to anticipate any payment. This category also involved the elderly or disabled. Despite the discussed initiatives, women economic empowerment remains a distant dream. Levels of poverty continue to increase, with HIV/AIDS, globalization, and liberalization posing as major challenges which create uncertainties for future improvements in this area. This is what has also complicated efforts by civil society in addressing issues of women’s rights generally and particularly violence against women as will be reviewed in the section which follows 4.3 Political Empowerment There are a number of organizations that have been implementing programmes that are directly geared to empowering women who aspire for political position. For example the programmes carried by TGNP in 1995 that empowered a number of women who struggled through their parties and successfully got to parliament although through the special seats. In


2000, there was a joint programme by TGNP and TAMWA to empower the women who aspired for political positions before election and carried follow up programmes after election. In 2002 parliamentary election, the networks and coalitions lobbied for special seats to have equal regional distribution. The UWT took up positively and affected it by ensuring one woman parliament was voted for each region to special seats representation. So far there are 65 women parliamentarians of whom 12 are from the constituents and 53 from special seats. The main issue in women political empowerment is not only to get the number, but also to have women who are empowered Following this, there have been further programmes that were organized and conducted to empower the women members of parliament on how to respond to the parliamentary proceedings, how to involve themselves in discussions and how to contribute to the discussions. Further training were conducted to empower women parliamentarians in gender budgeting so that they follow up the budgets and ensure the allocations is made to address the gender and pro-poor needs. In conjunction to empowering women in decision making, a number of organizations organized and conducted civic and voters education as a strategy of empowering the voters. Empowering voters, is a strategic approach to vote for more women to decision making bodies since women are the majority of the voters. If women are empowered enough, they would vote for their fellow women candidates. Such programmes are now institutionalized in a number of organizations to avoid the bombardment of such programmes when it comes to election period. There are five (5) such organizations in Dar, four (4) in Arusha, three (3) in Kilimanjaro and two ( 2) in Dodoma that had specific programmes interventions focused to empower woman to come out and seek political positions from village to national levels and therefore raise political empowerment of women. Challenges The status of women in decision making is not very pleasing. Access of women to decision making and their exercise of their political rights that can influence at all levels has been limited to willingness of the reigning authorities and affirmative actions. This is contributed to by the traditional /cultural norms, beliefs, rules and regulation that has stereotyped women as inferior and subordinate who cannot give or exercise any decision over an issue. Unfortunately, these gaps in women in decision making accelerate from the family level to decision making. The trends reduce women’s participation in political decision making structures to a tokenism and a political issue rather than a right. There are still very few women who hold top positions in political parties, in the government and public sectors. Male dominance in political and decision making structures still reign. On the part of the NGOs, the majority of the NGOs are non-political and therefore do not bother very much to aspire for position in political decision making. Party politics also are a constraint to women who cannot put themselves in the party conflicts and even corruption. At the same time, parties have not been convincing enough to their course and are not specifically addressing the key critical human, gender or pro-poor issues. Therefore there has not been a conviction that they call for really democracy.


4.4 Social Empowerment Of all the activities/areas done by NGOs in relation to implementing the BPFA, the area of social empowerment seems to have been attracting many of them. The majority of the NGOs have been involving themselves in activities/ areas related to social services both consciously and unconsciously to the BPFA. However, many of these activities are being done at welfare level and specifically around service delivery. For example, most of them are around the areas of education, health, especially around the issue of HIV/AIDS pandemic, agriculture and environment. For example, 5 NGOs in Kilimanjaro are engaged in social services delivery in education (MAADILI, KWIECO, NAFGEM), health (HIV/AIDS) MKUKI), agriculture & environment (ENVIROCARE) etc. In Lindi and Mtwara regions, 5 NGOs are engaged in social services delivery activities as well. Others are water and nutritional facilities. At a limited way, there are other NGOs in this group that are social empowering civil society. Such NGOs have managed to have integrated projects that aim to socially empower women by reducing the access/distance to education, health, water, environment issues, nutritional and facilities and energy. Most of these organization are religions ones, like CARITAS, Christian Social Services Commission CSSC etc. One very good example that are exemplary are biogas projects such as that run by MIGESADO in Dodoma, an integrated social service delivery that aims to address energy, water, and nutritional issues in the rural level. There has been a thrust to support the girl child such as those geared to activate girls in science subjects. For instance FEMSA has been supporting girls to create interest and opt to go for science subject and FAWE that has been engaged in gender mainstreaming the On health, NGOs have been involving themselves not only in service delivery but they have been involving in addressing the issue of women and health at a policy level, such as bringing in the whole issue of macro policies, the SAPs and the impact of it, the cost sharing, the impact of HIV/AIDS and the impact to women. The Gender Budgeting campaign and health, that demands for more resources to the women and gender needs such as reproductive health rights, to address the HIV/AIDS issue and provision of ARV to support pregnant women who are HIV/AIDS positive and mother to child transmission. More resources to hospital to increase hospital beds, to medicine, to reflect more on the issue of home based care because the burden goes back to women and reduces highly their economic empowerment. The issue of vistula as a health issue is one of the major concern of some of the organizations as a critical issue that also calls for more attention because it is affecting more and more women. Because of poverty, most of the women cannot even afford to take care of their health any more. But it is also hampering the empowerment of women. Issues of menopause as a health issue is one of the major concern addressed by a number of organizations especially the gender and human rights groups. Menopause is a growing problem in women and it seems no body bothers about it at all. The Ministry of health is not addressing this, although the issues of diabetes or heart problem or problem related to pressure are being taken into consideration in budgets.


In education, NGOs and especially those working in this area and all other gender and pro-poor groups managed to push on issue of admission, quality, infrastructure and teachers ration, and although there are multiplicity problems, there are some efforts around this. For example the MEM programme that has enabled mass enrolment and the building of more classes, recruitment of teachers. The demand for more resources to education has been one of the advocacy activities among the NGOs, eg the gender budgeting was geared to see an increase in resourcing education, both for good and quality education. Education forms the basis for empowering women. NGOs have been working towards realization of this by advocating on girl child and within this period we have witness the support and opportunity given to girls at different levels. At the higher education, there have been instituted programmes to upgrade the knowledge and capacity of girls so that they cope with competition with fellow boys/men. On water, the study reveals an increased advocacy around water, water for health, water for hygiene, water for food and water for HIV/AIDS and empowering women to be part of the decision makers in water committees. According to the new Water Policy, women constitute the majority in water committees. The institutionalization of PER consultative meeting is a monitoring mechanism on budget expenditure. The NGOs are in advocacy around the issue of privatizing water, because water is a right to all the people, women and men alike. When water is privatized, it is individualized and monetarised and therefore remove that essence of being the right to everyone. There are some of the organizations that are involved directly in providing water to communities and especially drilling where water is not available. The education which is given around management of water ounce the drilling is done so as to have direct ownership and be responsible for care. Where water has been drilled, selling of water is done to generate income to service the wells. Challenges Although many of the NGOs are in service delivery activities, most of them focus on small segment of the population and leave the majority not accessible with the services. For instance FEMSA has been supporting girls in science subject, while in rural areas still girls fails to continue with their secondary education because they do not perform or they cannot pay, therefore, there is an issue of capability and affordability. There have been cases where orphans never got supported in school fees both by the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Local government as reported by AFRIWAG for TANGA, even when the initiatives was taken by AFRIWAG to communicate with MOEC, neither MOEC nor the local government was ready to support the AFRIWAG orphans initiatives. Lack of NGOs capacity and strategic coalitions in the regions for demanding social rights to the relevant authorities such as education, health, water etc. is a challenge that limits the achievements of most NGOs in the regions. Moreover, access to basic social services remains an issue that dis-empowers most of women and contributes significantly to their poverty status.


There are very few NGOs that have managed to integrate projects that aim to socially empower women and advanced and exemplary projects like those of the biogas suffer from dependability to external source of financial support. Thus its sustainability and extensive rural expansion is very limited. The level of empowering women in the provision of these services is still very limited. For example, in the water committees. Although the policy says the majority of members in that committee should be women, it does not tie a requirement to the leadership of these committees. It is not strange to find a committee of 8 women out of 10 members, but the chair and secretary or depute chair being men. The earnings from water, is not necessarily utilized to empower women. The provision of these services is mostly concentrated in urban than rural areas. Even in urban areas, most of services are concentrated in few area, i.e. the hotels and where executive live. But other areas where the majority of the poor resides, it is still a nightmare, because some of the areas in urban do not benefit the services at all. 4.5 Violence against Women Almost all women led NGOs have been fighting violence against women in one way or another. Cases of violence against women include wife battery, rape, sexual harassment, sexual corruption, FGM, killings of old women under the pretext of witchcraft etc. The enactment of the Sexual Offence Special Provision Act commonly known as SOSPA that was passed in 1998 is the results of gender activists fight violence against women. Violence against women constitute a wide range of discriminatory and criminal practices that constitute gender specific violence causing tremendous suffering to individual women, girls and children and exert incalculable social cost as well. Such violence can be physical, sexual, psychological and emotional. Women focused violence, moreover, undermine widely held goals, for economic and social development of any given country. Women cannot, lend their time, or create ideas, fully when they are burdened with physical and psychological scars of violence. A culture of violence can be legitimated in many ways, and defended on various grounds. Since violence against women constitute a violation of women’s rights, the campaign against women violence is embedded in the total campaign on women’s rights. NGOs such as TAMWA, AFNET, and LHRC have been engaged in different campaigns to end FGM - a worst violence done to women in many Tanzania Societies. TAMWA stand boldly to date fighting old women killings in Shinyanga and Mwanza regions. Challenges As the fight against violence and rape is on its rage, acts of violence and rape are increasingly causing an alarm that needs to be taken into consideration. The SAP and the impact of SAPs in privatization, retrenchment or lay off of workers, the cost sharing, unemployment and the growing poverty are all a challenge to the fight against violence.


Marital rape had not been included in the sexual Offence Special Provincial Act (SOSPA) of 1998, but more violence is being committed under the pretence of marriage. 4.6 Policy advocacy, Policy Enabling Environment During this period, NGOs have at least forged themselves in to take up different opportunities in policy making process and in other related processes. The involvement in policy discussions and policy making has created quite an impact. For example, strengthening the coalition around Vision 2025 discussions, PRSP, PER, Poverty Policy week, around NGO policy drawing, in the debate around the Land Bill, around budgets. A lot of effort is now directed to advocacy around the HIV/AIDS. Such Participatory approaches and involvement of people in policy formulation have been cherished by many NGOs and the government as well. There is a growing number of NGOs that have programmes focused to create mechanisms and environments that will allow different groups of people to influence policies for alternatives, changing in various development spheres. Most of the NGOs engaged in policy advocacy are mainly in Urban especially in Dar es Salaam, Arusha and Kilimanjaro For instance the engagement in gender budgeting initiative aims at changing policies around national budgeting processes to take on board gender dimensions from the budget guidelines to the allocations levels, to utilization. In this way, planning and budgeting should take up pro-poor and gender dimension. NGOs that have a national coverage are the ones mostly engaged in policy advocacy. Coalition is one of the strength that has helped the NGOs to pursue effectively their policy advocacy work and this has made great impact in influencing gender and pro-poor issues in policy dialogue/discussions, in policy formulation, in planning and in budgeting. There have been coalition building around issues such as around land issues, around sexual harassment, around NGO policy/laws, around human rights etc and around bigger policy advocacy activities. These have been great strengths to changing attitude and influencing changes in policy frameworks, in planning and in budgeting. Challenges The biggest challenge with policy advocacy and policy engagement is the attitude of the government towards transparency in opening up doors for effective participation and the timing of the opening up to NGO’s participation . Less NGOs in the regions are engage in policy advocacy. This seems to be not their priority at their localities. Yet the biggest challenge is the capacity among NGOs themselves to link up issues. Organizations like those that are involved in welfare activities, need know that there is a direct relationship between the activities they do and the policy or regulatory mechanism that is in place. Therefore, the need for capacities to link up issues, so as the government too. The broadening of the coalition is both a strength and a challenge. Sustaining the coalition in its broadened form, including the Intermediary Gender Networks and networks without a


formal structure with diversity of interests is quite a challenge. Its sustainability will depend upon the driving forces which will continue to push for collective actions around agreed upon aspects the individual interests notwithstanding. The seemingly positive response from the government, poses some challenges.

Most of government processes like the Public Expenditure Review, the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper and the Tanzanian Vision 2025 do pay a lip service to gender mainstreaming although not on a systematic manner. On the one hand, the central government has mainstreamed gender budget in its budgetary processes and that the capacity of the budget staff has been backstopped by coalition members. The impact of this on the lives of women and poor men is yet to be felt 4.7 Legislative and Legal Instruments Advocacy A number of NGO in Dar es Salaam specifically Lawyers Associations have been playing a vital role in leading the rest of the coalitions and networks in influencing legislatives and legal instrument to protect women and children. At the same time, there are a number of legal matters and issues that were followed up, reviewed, for lobbying and advocacy around it them Such areas are such as the SOSPA 1998, Land Act of 1999, the Land review, 2004, the NGO policy, and Act from 1998-2004. Others are the Taxation Act, 2004, and the work that is on going for review of a number of Laws, such as the Inheritance Law. The work of the NGOs also pushed in for the CEDAW protocol. The NGOs at one time developed a shadow CEDAW report. Respective NGOs have been raising awareness on legal rights for women, children and a number of NGOs have been even representing women and children in demanding costs for their rights. Yet some of these NGOs have established constituents in the regions, where paralegal units have been established and run to help women and children in legal matters. There are already such branches in Morogoro, Songea, Mbeya, Arusha, Tanga, Shinyanga and Dodoma region as examples of the extended paralegal services The recently passed legislatives and laws such as the SOSPA and Land Act have been pioneered and advocated for by the NGO coalition and networks have been taking up different roles around them such as raising awareness, sensitizing, bringing out the gender and pro-poor dimension of the laws and Acts, using different channels and media to reach most people, women and children and target groups who are affected by these laws. Further marginalizing laws, policies and regulations are being looked at by organizations for review and lobbying to be effected. For example, the inheritance law, the Law of Marriage of 19971.and others of the like that are constraining and contradicting. For example, in the marriage law of 1971, a girl can get married at an age of 15 years, but 15 years is not an adult, and contradicts with the SOSPA which bases an adult at an age of 18 years. In the same way are the macro economic policies and models, which are related to policy, planning and budgeting, are being pushed for gender and pro-poor review.


Challenges The biggest challenge with Legislative and Legal Instruments Advocacy is the rigid ness and the patriarchal elements and behaviour that is deeply entrenched in the society and especially in leadership. In this way, much more work is to be done by the NGOs and other networks in reviewing laws and regulation that are not gender and pro-poor perspective. The backlash that is coming out of the dissatisfaction by some people, among them even leaders, with the review of some of the laws. For example the negative reaction on SOSPA. We are yet to see really commitment by the government to initiate of some of the marginalizing laws even where they are obviously marginalizing. The low level of legal understanding among the people to demand for change of laws and regulations is also a constraint, even among some of the NGOs. The Broadening of the coalition is strength and a challenge. Sustaining the coalition in its broadened form, including the Intermediary Gender Networks, without a formal structure with diversity of interests is quite a challenge. Its sustainability will depend upon the driving forces which will continue to push for collective actions around agreed upon aspects the individual interests notwithstanding. 4.8 Girl/child Education forms the basis for empowering women. NGOs have been working towards realization of this by advocating on girl child and within this period we have witness the support and opportunity given to girls at different levels. At the higher education, there have been instituted programmes to upgrade the knowledge and capacity of girls so that they cope with competition with fellow boys/men. In this period too, NGOs have pushed in a debate around allowing pregnant girls to resume schooling after delivery. Although this has raised a lot of protest from the government and religious institution, NGOs feels it is not fare for the girls to get the punishment alone while the system leaves the culprit to go. Therefore there is no fair play in this. As a concern to raise the enrolment of girls in secondary and higher education, the government has encouraged private institutions and individuals to build schools, more girls schools have been built and a number of the existing boys schools have been reviewed to cater for co-education to facilitate more admission to girls. Challenges The adamant decision to terminate pregnant girls instead of giving them chance to come back is a big challenge to the commitment on empowering girl child. There is also lack of analysis as to what the root cause is and that, instead of dealing with the root, the government is dealing with the outcomes. Globalization and the policies that the country has adhered to may be contributing more to the problem than what we see. SAPs and the cost sharing in education should have a bigger impact on increasing teenager pregnancy. Resources that is going to education and good and quality education is still very low, and there is a lot of constraints in schooling, such as distance, transport food/meals etc.


The stereotyping subject for girls will not empower girls. The government needs to encourage the girls and institute programmes to create interests of girls in empowering subjects. 4.9 Information Right Access to information is power. For centuries, women have been denied the right to information. Their double role at the household level, poor economic status have left women less and less informed on many issues including their basic rights. Information such as that related to their own reproductive health, information to education facilities, to employment and to the policies that affect them and to legal rights. Today, there is this deadly disease HIV/AIDS. It is not transparently being explained, only there are threats and creation of fear instead of deliberating on the gendered impact of the underlying factors. NGOs have deliberated in breaking the silence on the right to information. For example, the campaign by the FemAct on Return Resources to People, HIV/AIDS is an issue of gendered impact, policy and resources. It is breaking the silence and breaking the misconception and the threat on causes of HIV/AIDS. NGOs in Tanzania have been making deliberate efforts to reach the majority through a number of ways including awareness raising programmes, print and electronic media, popular media and public rallies/demonstrations. Publicity has become the major component of the NGOs programmes. Moreover, there are opportunities that are opened up to public and outreach groups such as in the Gender and development Seminar Series conducted weekly by TGNP and those that are now spread in the outreach and IGNs and in other National NGO’s constituencies, such as the publicity being done by Hakielimu, LHRC, WLAC, TAWLA, TAALUMA , ENVIROCARE only to name the few and other like work being done for information sharing, information generation, for policy address, for lobbying and for activism work. The effort that has been made by NGOs to empower Media houses on gender, pro-poor issues and legal matters are an advantage because, with real conceptualization on these issues, they will be able to inform on women and other marginalized groups’ issues and at the same time inform women and marginalized groups on relevant information. Challenges One main challenge is the stereotyping of the information that is portrayed in media and other information sources. In most cases, the information that is given on women is that which is marginalizing, humiliating or on conflicts. This has not been empowering women at all. The issue of globalization is one of the major challenge to information. Most of the information is linked to what is interesting the stakeholders even if it is not benefiting. Sexual information, that are marginalizing tend to attract people especially youth more than development information. In this way, even information is corrupted and tend to portray such information more than others. The issue of workload is another challenge. Women are fully constrained with everlasting workload that they do not even get opportunity to inform themselves with enough


information that concern them. There is still lack of transparency in information on opportunities to employment. 5.0 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS 5.1 Positive Trends 5.1.1 As it can be extrapolated from the BPA implementation of activities documented,

NGOs have been implementing them without exception. Unlike the government which identified only four areas out of the 12 as stipulated in the BPA, NGOs implementation activities covers almost all the 12 areas in different capacities and focus.

5.1.2 Many of the gender oriented organizations and woman groups have been implementing the BPA consciously and steadily. Through the wave of the Beijing Declarations, other NGOs were compelled to have gender components in their programmes strategically although with limited articulation and focus. The combined efforts on the implementation of the BPA consciously or unconsciously by NGOs particularly in the areas of social services delivery have some significant impact on women status in the country.

5.1.3 Most organizations visited are aware of the equality move that calls women and men on development issues as equal partners. Even those NGOs which are service oriented e.g. religions and relief NGOs have also shaped their activities and implementation to focus on empowering women and the girl child. Water and sanitation, reproductive health, environmental services etc. have significant impact on the daily life of women and the girl child. The remaining problem that hinders the achievements towards fully empowering women and the girl child is more patriarchy, policy directions and attitudinal transformation.

5.1.4 Worth to be documented is the fact that the Beijing Declaration has shaped the civil society in Tanzania. Notably, the visibility of the civil society in the country owes much from the gender and women organizations which have been more prominent players and catalyst in policy dialogue, voicing alternative views and ideas, challenging the status quo of the patriarch system rendering it outdated in contemporary sustainable development cherished by gender and human right activists, true democracy believers and advocacy of total social transformation in society.

5.1.5 Gender and women organizations continued to mobilize social participation on principles of equality between men and women in decision making arena. Campaigns on the sexual offences, land rights, female genital mutilation, equitable resource allocation with gender perspectives, Poverty Reduction Strategies and the plight of women and other marginalized segment of the Tanzanian populace, the NGO policy and legislation etc. are some of the examples that NGOs has played a great role and make impact.

5.2 Major achievements

5.2.1 In implementing Beijing Platform for Action, one area where the civil society has recorded success is in coalition building and networking. There have been many of these coalitions and networks, and even now, there are still areas where coalitions are necessary. However, of all the coalition or networks FemAct has emerged as a core coalition capable of engaging the state and yet remain autonomous from the state. The most successful collective action has been the GBI campaign, although there are


several networks focusing on specialized areas such as FGM network, the Land Task force, and the Constitutional Coalition, SOSPA campaign and the Land Bill Campaign. The government has recognized FemAct as a force to reckon. One other is the engagement in macro economic policy debates that has been another area which the coalition can record success. The coalition has influenced several processes, some of which are: • Mainstreaming gender in budget guidelines and national, Sectoral and Local

Council budgets and corruption debates. • Influencing the NGO Policy Process and content • Influencing the Sexual Offence Bill • Influencing the land bills of 1999 and the Land review of 2004. • Influencing the Vision 2025 • Influencing the Countries Constitution • Protesting against World Bank, IMF and International Capital conditions which

have impoverishing effects. • Influencing the Debt issues • Operationalizing the GBI campaign • Influenced taxation and revenue policy • Training, capacity building and awareness raising on gender mainstreaming.

5.3 Negative trends, main challenges, threats and uncertainties 5.3.1 As the years go by, the wave and vigor of the Beijing Declaration take a mockery

direction, (Mbeijing) while the goals are still far fetching. Some of the gains reached are eroded by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, low capacity of NGOs at the grass-root level and donor dependence programmes. In-depth gender analytical skills, and gender policies in NGOs/CBOs is still lacking.

5.3.2 Previously gender and women issues attracted funding from different external sources. NGOs could implement their programme comfortably and push the agenda further. Today there is slightly a shift. The priority seems to shift to other pressing phenomena for example the HIV/AIDS. Many of NGOs programmes and activities are swayed by the funding flow. For instance, many of the NGOs are shifting their focus and deal with consequences of the HIV/AIDS-which today attracts funding, let alone the underlying causalities amongst the gender imbalances in the society we live in. Most of the NGOs and CBOs visited are dealing with the HIV/AIDS issue focusing on raising awareness and service delivery. This is because they lack the capacity to conceptualize correctly the gender agenda, because everything has a gender dimension and if not analysed from the gender perspective, then we might conclude gender is something and HIV/AIDS has nothing to do with gender which is very wrong. Actual, lack of capacity. Very few like TGNP touches on the structural causes of the pandemic in the society particularly the skewed resource allocation which discriminates women and the girl child rendering them vulnerable to HIV and other STD infections.

5.3.3 Two things came out clearly in this study. One is the observation that NGOs and CBOs in the rural-urban areas are more engaged in social delivery services. An NGO in the rural become credible and relevant if it attempts to solve the daily problems of the people which include water, health, education, food etc. On the other hand, NGOs in cities and municipals which assume a national level status in terms of their issues


and coverage are more engaged in policy, economic, legislative dialogues and information dissemination. The two levels of interventions are crucial to realize the intended goals. However, the linkages and how the two levels feed each other for common purpose leave much to be done. This calls for close working together and networking among the NGOs at different levels to make the required impact. While NGOs at the national level are more engaged at shaping the policies and programmes to respond to the peoples’ needs, NGOs at the rural levels should be able tap the opportunities provided by the policies, demand their rights and fulfill their obligations towards their own developments.

5.3.4 Lastly, Tanzania was privileged to take up the Secretary Generalship-a leading position during the 1995 Beijing Conference and as chief coordinator for the Beijing +5 Special UN Meeting for the Advancement of Women in New York in 2000. In this capacity the country had a responsibility and a better position to be a role model in implementing the BPFA issues of equal representation of women and men in decision making forums. The Secretary Generalship position could be yet another advocacy tool that would continue to put Tanzania on the map and model in gender transformation along the BPA. There is a feeling that, “The fire” of “Bringing Beijing Home” has faded away.

5.3.5 Globalization and market forces have not only reversed some of the gains, but introduced powerful backlash against forces of progress in terms of women’s liberation. Cost sharing, privatization and commercialization of social services, as reduced role of state in regulating social goods and services.

5.3.6 Patriarchal structures, and the growing gap between haves and have not leads excessive competition leads to survival of the fittest,

5.3.7 Shrinking of resources for supporting Tran formative activism. 5.4 Recommendations 5.4.1. Given the current awareness and implementation status of the BPFA so far, there is a

need to do a reflection on the part of the NGOs to come up with better mechanism of pushing on more realization of the Beijing Platform for Action especially those areas that have not been implemented effectively. However, there are those issues which the NGOs feels have been done well, like the policy advocacy issues, NGO’s should reflect how to realize more tangible results, like the GBI, how do we come with tangible results in Tanzania.

5.4.2. It is time to popularize the BPFA priority areas. NGOs can brainstorm innovative and motivational strategies for doing that and committing those in power to take appropriate measures leading to tangible results. For instance, performances of political party in power and those that have been registered especially those already having seat in parliament should be evaluated and attested along the BPFA. This could be the basis of obtaining the mandate for leadership from the people especially the marginalized segments of the society. Political party policies, regulation, programmes and actions should be analysed with wide gender dimension and monitor the implementation closely. NGOs have been packaging and documenting the implementation of the BPFA in different way, maybe it is important to take stock of what is in place and what is not documented, the gaps and best practices

5.4.3. Gender and women organizations must mentor and bring on board as many as possible young women and men on gender approaches, equality and equity issues. This process is important to ensure wide social movement and keep the Beijing fire


burning in the minds and deeds. Youth support and social movement are critical towards achieving the Beijing goals.

5.4.4. Capacities of NGOs for effective implementation of the BPA need to be enhanced. Further articulation of BPA should be done and NGOs should institutionalization it in plans and programmes particularly those at the grass-root level need to be promoted and strengthened.

5.4.5. Institute Gender analysis programmes that links to the contemporary challenges of the world i.e, poverty, terrorism, HIV/AIDS, unemployment should be conducted and popularized across all NGOs at different levels. Along with this, short and long term evaluation of BPA process should be taking place.

6.0 WHAT IS THE WAY FORWARD

6.1 There is need to look at the health status and specifically on women and health as a critical l issue as we begin the next decade of BPFA. The strength in coalition can be taken already as a health ground but it needs strengthening and build a campaign around. The issue of women and delivery needs a specific campaign. Women can no longer continue to suffer that much in bringing the human resource of this nation.

6.2 Secondly, despite government’s publicly promising to promoting women in decision

making, the progress is very slow, and political will to translate commitments into actions does not seem to be there. This is yet another area where the coalition has to put effort in pushing and demanding gender accountability. In as long as women remain under represented in decision-making, the possibility of changing the ruling paradigm to reflect women’s practical needs and strategic interests will not be there.

6.3 Related to the above is the need to move the campaign beyond demanding numbers.

While representation is necessary, the need to transform structures of oppression has to be part of the movements agenda.

-END-


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