women

Tanzania
CALL TO ACTION
Prevent high-risk births Support girls to stay in school
marriage for girls violence

RAPID
Invest in Women and Girls

Protect women and girls from

Photo: Frank Spangler, Worldview Images

Raise the legal age of

 ... we have made maternal health a top priority. It is unacceptable to allow mothers and children to die when we have the knowledge and resources to save them.
His Excellency Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, President of the United Republic of Tanzania, 2012

Investing in family planning, girls education, and womens advancement will contribute to Tanzanias national development.

Prevent High-Risk Births

Nearly three in five births are considered high risk, posing a greater threat to the health of women and children. A birth is considered high risk if a woman becomes pregnant at too early or too late an age, her births are too closely spaced, or she has had many births. High-risk births contribute to Tanzanias high infant mortality rate. One out of every 20 infants born does not survive his or her first year. Those born within two years of a previous brother or sister are nearly twice as likely to die in their first year than those spaced three or more years apart.

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Support Women and Girls

Help Girls Remain in School
Nearly all girls are enrolled in primary school, but school attendance rates drop when they reach age 11. Fewer than one in three girls ages 1417 are enrolled in secondary school, and most of them do not graduate. Many parents and community members condone early marriage, which usually ends girls opportunities to further their education. Pregnancy is also a common cause for school drop-out. Every year more than 8,000 girls drop out from school due to pregnancy.

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What Can Be Done

Support family planning services and education to prevent unintended pregnancies. Support family planning services and educate women and girls on the effects of unintended and early pregnancy. Raise the legal age of marriage to 18 for girls. Change norms and practices that expose women and girls to violence and abuse.

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Photo: Kim Tyo-Dickerson

More than two in five young women begin childbearing before age 19. Eight percent of girls ages 1519 report that they have had no education. Nearly one in five girls ages 1519 are already married. Nearly half of all Tanzanian women ages 1549 have experienced physical or sexual violence or both.
Tanzania has achieved major improvements in health and development outcomes over the past decade. Women and children are healthier, and youth are better educated. However, women and girls in Tanzania still face many challenges that prevent them from achieving their full potential which affects the well-being of families and communities and hinders national development.

Protect Women and Girls from Violence

Nearly half of Tanzanian women and girls have experienced physical and/or sexual violence. It is challenging to end violence against women because many people believe that it is acceptable. Half of all Tanzanian women believe that being beaten by ones husband is justified under certain conditions.

SUMMARY
A strategic multi-faceted approach to womens advancement, including family planning and girls education, is more effective than a single strategy. Taking this approach would have a major impact on Tanzanias developmentthe countrys rank on the United Nations Human Development Index would rise from 152 out of 169 countries to 92 by 2050.

For more information:

WAMA Foundation P.O. Box 10641 Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Email: info@wamafoundation.or.tz