CULTURE-TANZANIA: African Women Called on to Stop Embracing Poverty

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Ananilea Nkya

DAR ES SALAAM, Aug 22 2003 (IPS) - Women in Africa have to rise up to the challenge of developing positive attitudes as a key factor to advancing themselves, as well as attaining sustainable socio and economic development of the continent.

This was the message from the Tanzania Minister for Community Development Gender and Children, Dr. Asha-Rose Migiro when officiating the recently held belated Southern African Women’s Day celebration held in the Tanzania Commercial city of Dar Es Salaam. The theme for the celebration this year was; "Women together marching into the African century and together rolling back the frontiers of poverty".

Migiro said as women address material poverty they should not loose sight of "poverty of the mind" because it has a lot to do with beliefs, attitudes and vision that chain women to the web of poverty and other socio-economic disadvantages.

"No society will advance smoothly, if we do not shake off those beliefs and attitudes that impede women’s advancement and hinder women’s empowerment," said the human rights activist who has been applauded by women’s groups as the most dynamic minister the Tanzania Gender Ministry has had since the country gained independence from Britain in 1961.

According to Migiro, the "African Century" poses a number of challenges including; globalisation and its impact on women; peace and conflict and the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Good governance, the rule of law, traditions and customs that degrade women and empowerment of women and other marginalized groups are others.

"In my opinion we can only squarely address these challenges if we march into the African challenges together and with a strong voice as women," stressed the Minister who is by profession a lawyer.

Her view was supported by the South African High Commissioner to Tanzania, Theresa Mary Solomon, who said gender equality is also about economic transformation and that key in this transformation is the position of women and role of women in the economy.

She said that continuing job losses adversely affect women more than any other sector of society. This is because unemployment and poverty place pressure on women as they are the ones who perform the "unpaid labour" at home which includes childcare, home health care, informal education, household production and looking after the sick and the elderly.

However, Solomon said women have always emerged stronger out of the challenges they faced and they always try to devise ways and means to lighten the burden and to make ends meet. "We need to build more and more forms of collective and co-operative social ventures in order to pool our people’s resources together and utilise them for economic transformation, which could contribute to gender equality," she said.

A representative from the Tanzania Media Women’s Association, Marie Shaba, encouraged African women to be proactive and strategic in fighting poverty.

She said all women and girls in Africa, and the entire world, should stand united and say; "We shall no longer stand passively and watch our children resources being squandered, but we shall continue to match forward like the women of South Africa did on 9th August 2003 .and refuse to be called the poorest of the world weakest".

The gender activist suggested that women in Africa should educate themselves on policies that are impacting on their lives and match together to challenge them with one united voice.

Further, she noted that women need to be bold and question the unquestionable. "Why don’t we talk about the filthy rich and the so called strongest for a change because that is the real challenge we are facing today," she said.

Shaba quoted peace activist Mahatma Gandhi who said; ‘The world has enough for everyone’s needs, but not for everyone’s greed". She warned that the world will continue to have not enough for women unless women are united to make themselves visible.

A social survey conducted in the United Kingdom in 1995 indicates that although women produce half of the food yet they make up 70 percent of the world’s 1.3 million absolute poor. Further data from the survey shows that globally women still have only 36 percent of the total wage employment and only half of the share of national income.

In response to the situation the Tanzania Gender Networking Programme, TGNP, has initiated a Gender Budgeting Initiative (GBI) Campaign aimed at ensuring that national resources are equitably distributed through national budgets to benefit all people in the nation.

A TGNP official told IPS that GBI addresses gender concerns and seeks to empower women to take up decision-making positions which is the key factor in addressing poverty issues .

Dr Victoria Kisyombe, an official with SERO, a micro finance initiative for women in the East African country, said Africa should strengthen the micro finance industry if they want to do away with poverty especially among women.

"Micro finance stimulates economic independence and allows much more stable development because it creates an economy which involves and is controlled by local people. This is an essential element if Africa is to role back the frontiers of poverty and make this century the African century," said Dr Kisyombe.