RAPID

Tanzania
Empowering Women and Girls
Women and girls already make an important contribution to their families, communities, and the nation. Helping them to maximise their skills, access needed health and educational resources, and take active roles in family and community decision makingin essence, empowering themcould increase this contribution and further the countrys social and economic development. To empower women and girls in Tanzania, three key interventions are needed: 1. Promote womens reproductive health by preventing unintended pregnancy and high-risk births 2. Prioritise girls education by encouraging and enabling girls to attend school and acquire the skills needed to earn a livelihood 3. Address harmful gender norms by protecting women and girls from violence, enabling them to participate in decision making, and raising the legal age of marriage In Tanzania, one out of every 20 infants born does not survive 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. Increasing family planning use, thereby preventing unintended pregnancy and high-risk births, will help reduce the countrys high rates of infant mortality and protect womens and childrens healthas well as enable women to fulfill their potential.

WomEn

Prioritise Girls Education

Education is important for many reasons, such as economic empowerment and better health and well-being. Tanzania has achieved gender parity in primary education, with nearly 95 percent of boys and girls enrolled in primary education. Three in 10 girls ages 1417 are enrolled in secondary school. However, fewer than one in five (18%) of girls ages 1517 who enroll in secondary school complete their course of study. Every year, more than 8,000 girls drop out from school due to pregnancy. About half of teenage girls who have had no education have begun childbearing, compared with only six percent of girls who have completed secondary education. Girls who attend school are less likely to have a child during their teenage years. Investing in and encouraging education for girls, as well as preventing early childbearing, will protect the health of the mother and child and enable young women to maximise their social and economic opportunities and contributions.

Promote Womens Reproductive Health

Family planning helps women space and limit pregnancies and protects the health of mothers and children. However, while 70 percent of currently married women ages 1549 desire to wait two years or more to have their next child or do not want more children, only three out of every 10 women in Tanzania use family planning. Further, nearly three in five births are considered high risk in terms of the mothers and childs health. 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.

November 2012

RAPID WomEn Tanzania: Empowering Women and Girls

Photo on front page: Frank Spangler, Worldview Images

Address Harmful Gender norms

Some social and cultural norms hinder women from accessing the resources and services they need to protect their health and improve their productivity and well-being for themselves and their families. For example, many men, women, and communities believe violence against women is tolerable. Half of all Tanzanian women believe that being beaten by ones husband is acceptable under certain conditions. In Tanzania, 45 percent of women ages 1549 have ever experienced physical or sexual violence or both. Violence directly and indirectly affects the health of women and girls and decreases their likelihood of participating in decision making. Another example is early marriage. Norms and the Law of Marriage Act enable girls to marry at age 15 with parental consent. In Tanzania, among girls ages 1519, nearly one in five are married. This norm contributes to early childbearing and a greater likelihood of dropping out of school. These norms and others affect womens and girls participation in decision making. In Tanzania, four in 10 women do not make decisions about their own healthcare. Research shows that the more involved women are in household decision making, the more likely they are to seek out health services and meet their reproductive health and other life goals.

expanding access to family planning, enabling girls to stay in school longer, and promoting equitable gender norms, especially protecting women and girls from violence. These programmes could save the lives of more than 92,000 mothers and 2 million children between 2010 and 2030. In 2011, the United Nations ranked Tanzania low (152 out of 169 countries) on the Human Development Index, based on life expectancy, educational attainment, and standard of living. With the achievements brought about by more support for girls education, equitable gender norms, and family planning, the countrys index would improve to the 92nd position in 2050. A strategic multi-faceted approach to womens empowerment, including family planning, is more effective than a single strategy. Increasing resources for women and girls translates to improving the social and economic livelihoods of women, families, and communities.

What Can Be Done

Prioritise and increase access to and resources for family planning services, including sexual and reproductive health education Promote youth friendly health and education services to broaden access to knowledge and information on reproductive health Increase resources to support girls in completing secondary school, undertaking vocational training in school, and obtaining employment Raise the legal age of marriage for girls to 18 Mobilise resources for and implement the national policies, guidelines, and strategies to protect women and girls from violence

Potential Impact on national Development

An analysis of recent data on factors affecting womens and girls well-being found that investments in women-centered programmes could make a major difference in Tanzanias future in the next few decades. If national and local governments were to invest in programmes for women and children to give them an opportunity to advance, the effects would be visible throughout the country. The key programmes that have the most impact are

WAMA thanks the David and Lucile Packard Foundation for its generous support.

Wanawake Na Maendeleo (WAMA) Foundation is a nongovernmental organisation founded by the Tanzanian First Lady, Mama Salma Kikwete, in 2006. Its goal is to improve the life standard of women and children by promoting access to education, health services, and capacity building for economic empowerment. Major programme areas are girls education, womens empowerment, health promotion and advocacy, and orphans and vulnerable children.

WAMA Foundation P.O. Box 10641 Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Tel: 255 22 2126516 Fax: 255 22 2121916 Email: info@wamafoundation.or.tz http://www.wamafoundation.or.tz