The article highlights on the concept of Gender Equality and its effect to a Tanzania woman, communities and generally to the Tanzania economy.

1. Gender Equality
In Relation to a Tanzania Woman
11/20/2014
George James Ouma
Legal Expertise Access Platform Inaugural conference November 2014
Email: oumageorge21@gmail.com
I
iN

2. INTRODUCTION
Gender equality is a measurable situation where by a woman and man enjoys the
same rights and opportunities within the society. These rights and opportunities
include economic participation, decision making and maintenance of equal value.
When we talk about gender equality we are not talking about rights of a
woman against a man, but rights of a woman equal to a man.
We might not be the same a man and a woman but equal, and the equality is on
how equal a man and a woman are treated within the society. Actually, the notion
impose a platform where there will be no discrimination against any one based on
gender, unless there is a sound biological reason for different treatment.1
However, this article does not intend to elaborate on the concreteness of gender
equality concept and its legality. But to highlight the concept and its effect to a
Tanzania woman, communities and generally to the Tanzania economy.
ORIGIN OF THE CONCEPT OF GENDER EQUALITY
Gender equality is an objective of Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948.
Such spirit is derived from article 1 and 2 of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights.
Article one states that:
1 United Nations. Report of the Economic and Social Council for 1997. A/52/3.18 September 1997

3. 3
“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are
endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a
spirit of brotherhood.”
And article 2 states that:
“Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this
Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex,
language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin,
property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on
the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or
territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-
governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.”
The issue of gender discrimination however is stipulated in many international
statutes, though not specific and independent as to mean women discrimination,
but as to mean all forms of discrimination based on sex.
Upon the split of the rights under the Universal Declaration of human rights 1948,
The International Convention on Civil and Political Rights 1966 and The
International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 1966 carry the
provisions which abolish all discrimination bases, in which discrimination on sex
bases is included.
Article 2(1) of the international covenant on civil and political rights 1966
provides that:
“Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to respect and to ensure
to all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction the rights
recognized in the present Covenant, without distinction of any kind, such

4. as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or
social origin, property, birth or other status
And article 2(2) of the international covenant on economic, social and cultural
rights 1966 states that:
“The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to guarantee that the
rights enunciated in the present Covenant will be exercised without
discrimination of any kind as to race, color, sex, language, religion, political
or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.”
This spirit also led to the followers and adaptation of other legal binding treaties,
such as The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination (ICERD).2
Apparently The General Assembly adopted other treaties
to reach nine core international human rights treaties, whereby today international
human rights law and standards include the nine core international human rights
treaties and their related international treaty monitoring bodies.
These treaties pushed forward the struggle against gender inequality all over the
world. The 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women (CEDAW) led the Unite Nation and its members to stress the
importance of operation gender equality, and together The Beijing Platform of
Action and the Millennium Declaration 2005 also commit the United Nation in
promoting gender equality in its development efforts all over the world.
Gender equality early was advocated by Christine de Pizan a woman, an Italian
French late medieval author who served as a court writer for several dukes and the
2 Sometimes is described as an international bill of rights for women, it defines what constitutes
discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination. The
Convention defines discrimination against women as "...any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on
the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or
exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of
human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other
field.

5. 5
French royal court during the reign of Charles V. In 1405 she wrote a book named
“The Book of the City of Ladies” tried to show out numerous advances in society
supposedly created by women and how the oppression of women is founded on
irrational prejudice.3
Later groups like the Shakers engaged themselves in gender equality issues
arose. And in 19th
Century the suffragette movement toward gender equality began
in west countries, which succeed to make women to vote and hold elected
office. Further the women right to own property was granted after the
Married Women's Property Act 18824
was passed in England, allowing married
women to own and control property as their own right.
GENDER EQUALITY IN AFRICA
In Africa gender equality promoted by different international and regional
instruments. The African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights of 1981 is among
of the instruments promoting gender equality, on its preamble, it advocates for
freedom and equality, and it states that:
“Freedom, Equality, Justice and Dignity are essential objectives for the
achievement of the legitimate aspirations of the African people”
Also other instruments like The African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on
the Right of Women in Africa 2003, The SADC Protocol on Gender and
Development 2009, East Africa Community Strategic Plan for Gender, Youth,
3 Riane Eisler (2007). The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics. p. 72.
4 The Act applied in England (and Wales) and Ireland (after Irish independence in 1922, only Northern
Ireland), but did not extend to Scotland. The Married Women‟s Property Act was a model for similar
legislation in other British territories.

6. Children, Social Protection and Community Development 2011-2015 are
contributing much now in maintaining gender equality in Africa.
A TANZANIAN WOMAN AND GENDER EQUALITY
A woman in Tanzania is portrayed as a mother of the family, a person who is
responsible for family care and the community as a whole. In most of our
communities in Tanzania a woman is given a subordinate chance from a man. They
do not participate in decision making, although they are the one taking huge
chance in community activities.
Women are the one following the wishes of men in the communities, and their
chance in having education are limited in most of societies compared to men,
above all, they are the victim of discrimination and exploitation. They are the one
suffering from sexual harassment, rape and even killed for false witchcraft
accusations.
The number of women Tanzania is also large compared to men. According to
2012 Census Database women are 23,058,993 in number, where by 16, 161,325 are
from rural areas and only 6,897,608 came from urban areas, compared
to 21,869,990 number of men where 15,462,594 are from rural, and 6,407,396
are from urban areas.
If you find this large number of women than men in a country, while having
evidence of women being suffering from discrimination and exploitation, then you
won‟t hesitate to concur with this concept of mine that the Tanzania people lives
in discrimination and exploitation, thus drastic measures need to be taken.

7. 7
Agriculture is the economic backbone in Tanzania, more than 76% 5
of the people
are depending in agriculture as their source of income, and most of them are found
in rural areas, where number of women is large than men. Women are the one who
taking care of farms in villages, but they don‟t have rights to say and decide on
what they produce.
Women are dominated by men, and even on marriage affairs, men are the one
who decide on how a woman should be married and when to be married, and
even the law of the country still bless that, the Law of Marriage Act6
under section 17 allows a person under eighteen years of age to be married by
parents consent, but according to this section parents means a „father‟ under
subsection 1(a) and a mother will be given a chance to consent only if a father
passed away, under subsection 1(b) of the same provision.
Actually the system itself still maintain gender inequality, you may not find a
perfect reason for there to be a different in marriage age between a boy and a
girl, as provided under section 13 of the Law of Marriage Act. Under this section a
boy is allowed to get married after attaining the age of eighteen years, the age
which is named to be the age of majority by almost all international jurisdictions,
but the age of fifteen years for a Tanzania girl, where under this age a person is
termed to be a child. Again from this you may find out how chances of a Tanzania
girl to study, and enjoy a better childish is limited by Tanzania system.
5 76.4% in 2009, UNCTAD
6 The law of the Marriage Act cap 29 (Revised Addition 2002

8. The Insights Gender Equity, Equality and Power relations in Sub-Saharan Africa
book also concur with me on this notion of system becoming the source of Gender
inequality. The writers in this book are saying; women exclusion has not only been a
product of cultural and historical factor, but also of a patriarchal nature of the state-
forming process that always favor men. Besides, the book gives evidence of both
historical matrilineal and patrilineal system in Africa. Thus the question of how
comes only patrilineal is recognised within the governmental system arises.
EFFECT OF GENDER INEQUALITY TO TANZANIA ECONOMY
Gender inequality affect Tanzania economy at large, in a normal situation when
you have a large number of people engaged themselves in production, but those
people are limited in having education, and chance to decision making on their daily
life then it‟s a tragedy.
You won‟t expect an economic growth from the people who are educational limited,
people who are exploited and discriminated; people who are limited to such extent
within a community cannot be expected to make better in economic growth. People,
who are dominated, cannot be expected to demonstrate beyond the expectation of
their masters, and from that effect therefore, if we need to strengthen our economy
we have to maintain gender equality.
We need to let women engage themselves in social, political and economic sphere,
free from any kind of oppression and discrimination. We need to ensure that, the
people who are taking care of our next generation are active and inspirational to that
generation. If a woman is empowered, then all the next coming generation is
empowered, because the good and better of the said empowered woman will be
inherent to the coming children, leading to the better responsible economic
generation.

9. 9
A child who is growing up in a community where her mother is in fear, and in all
kinds of humiliation, grow-up with fear and later will be incapable of handling the
adult responsibilities, all of this will be because of the poor foundation created to
this child by a humiliated mother who took care of him/her.
CONCLUSION
Tanzania need better and capable people in making development changes, and
those changes won‟t happen if large part of our human resources is left hanging
without a better platform in education and ability to decisional making, it has to
reach a time where we as Tanzanians, we stand and say enough to gender inequality
and let anyone without regarding to gender, be given a chance to participate in
economic production free from any humiliation.
Author Contacts
George James Ouma
Bachelor of Laws, Studying Post Graduate Diploma,
at The Law School of Tanzania.
Email: oumageorge21@gmail.com
Tell: +255714612931 or +255766831866