Log in
Edit
Discuss
| Tanzania | |
 Flag of Tanzania | |
| Population (in Mil.) | 41.9 |
 Sex Ratio (m/f)
| 0,98 |
 Life Expectancy Ratio (f/m)
| 1.03 |
 Fertility Rate
| 5.58 |
 Income Ratio (f/m)
| - |
 Literacy Ratio (f/m)
| 0,80 |
 Tertiary Enrolment Ratio (f/m)
| 0,41 |
 Women in Parliament (in %)
| 30,4 |
| SIGI Rank | 53 |
| More information on variables | |
| Did you know that Tanzania ranks number 53 of 102 countries on the OECD Social Institutions and Gender Index? To learn more, see the official country note "Gender Equality and Social Institutions in Tanzania" at genderindex.org: | |
Contents |
Social Institutions
The Constitution of Tanzania prohibits gender-based discrimination but the country’s legislation has yet to be adjusted to support this principle. In general, legal protection for women remains limited, in part because Tanzania’s judicial authorities take into account both customary and Islamic Sharia laws.
Tanzania is a multicultural society, comprising a variety of ethnic groups and different religions. Traditional views of the role and place (that is, as mothers in the home) of women still dominate, yet married women often face the greatest degree of discrimination. There is some evidence that public debate on these issues is on the rise.
Family Code
The rights of Tanzanian women within the family are poorly protected. The minimum legal age for marriage is 15 years for women and 18 years for men, but the law allows exceptions for girls aged 14 years under “justifiable” circumstances. The Penal Code permits citizens of African or Asian origin to marry off their daughters younger than 12 years old, provided the marriage is not consummated until the girls reach this age. There is a high incidence of early marriage in Tanzania: a 2004 United Nations report estimated that 25% of girls between 15 and 19 years of age were married, divorced or widowed.
Tanzanian law recognises three types of marriage: monogamous, polygamous and potentially polygamous. Polygamy requires the agreement of the first wife. Almost one-quarter of Tanzanian women live in polygamous marriages.
By law, mothers and fathers in Tanzania have equal rights as regards parental authority, but many traditional practices discriminate against women. If a couple separates, it is customary for the children to remain with the mother until the age of seven. When deciding which parent should be granted custody, courts are obliged to consider the traditions of the community to which a couple belongs.
In the matter of inheritance, the government and the judicial system recognise customary and Islamic laws, both of which contain provisions that discriminate against women. The Commission for Law Reform has drafted amendments to remove discriminatory measures from existing inheritance laws, but the government is not yet ready to implement these amendments.
Physical Integrity
The physical integrity of Tanzanian women is not sufficiently protected. In fact, the number of complaints filed in relation to violence against women has increased in recent years. Such violence remains very widespread, and the law neither prohibits nor punishes domestic violence. More than half of Tanzanian women are thought to have been beaten by their husbands; many men and women consider such acts legitimate if the husband objects to his wife's behaviour. A more serious problem is that many women are killed by their husbands or commit suicide after being subjected to domestic violence. The police do not generally involve themselves in domestic disputes.
In 1998, the government passed a law on sexual assault, which addresses both rape and incest. The law also criminalises spousal rape, but only if the couple is legally separated. Rape is now punishable by life imprisonment or by 30 days in prison with corporal punishment; offenders must also pay financial compensation to their victims. Despite these measures, rape remains a serious problem. More than 10% of Tanzanian women are thought to have suffered a sexual assault, but this figure may be low because very few women register complaints. Large numbers of women in Tanzanian refugee camps have been victims of rape and sexual abuse perpetrated by other refugees.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is common in Tanzania. On a national scale, it is estimated that one in six women have been subjected to the practice but the incidence varies widely from region to region. Circumcision is the most common form of excision, but infibulation (which involves cutting the outer lip of the vulva) is also practised, mainly in the northern and central Tanzania. The practice is systematic in some ethnic groups; others groups are believed to prohibit women who have not undergone FGM from marrying. In 1998, the government passed a law stipulating that anyone found practising FGM on a woman younger than 18 years of age can be given a prison sentence of 5 to 15 years. To date, no such sanctions have been imposed by the courts. According to some sources, the number of Tanzanian women who want FGM to continue is very low.
Tanzania does not appear to be a country of concern in relation to missing women.
Civil Liberties
Tanzanian women’s civil liberties appear to be respected; there are no stated restrictions on their freedom of movement or freedom of dress.
Ownership Rights
The government of Tanzania has taken steps to improve legislation in regard to women’s ownership rights, but restrictive customary laws are still very widespread. The 1999 Land Law gives Tanzanian women the right to obtain access to land, including the right to own, use and sell land. The law on village lands ensures that women are represented on land allocation committees and land administration councils. Although Tanzania’s civil marriage law grants women certain ownership rights, including access to property other than land, customary and Islamic laws that undermine these rights prevail within the Muslim community.
A 2004 amendment to the Land Law gave Tanzanian women the right to access to bank loans. In addition, a women's development fund was established in 1993 to facilitate access to commercial loans and encourage women to participate in the economic sector. However, customary practices continue to restrict women's access to loans and credit.
In the news
- allAfrica.com 08.07.2010 : Tanzania: Battered Women Find Safety in House of Peace
Sources
- AFROL Gender Profile, Tanzania, http://www.afrol.com/Categories/Women/profiles/tanzania_women.htm
- CEDAW (1996), Considerations of reports submitted by states parties under article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; combined second and third periodic reports of States parties - Tanzania, CEDAW/C/TZA/4-6, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.
- CEDAW (2007), Considerations of reports submitted by states parties under article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; combined fourth, fifth and sixth periodic reports of States parties - Tanzania, CEDAW/C/TZA/4-6, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.
- DHS (2005), Demographic and Health Survey 2004, National Bureau of Statistics Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, United Republic of Tanzania, ORC Macro Calverton, Maryland, USA http://www.measuredhs.com/pubs/pub_details.cfm?ID=566&ctry_id=39&SrchTp=ctry&flag=sur
- ISLAMIC FAMILY LAW, Legal Profile of Ethiopia, http://www.law.emory.edu/IFL/ accessed 30th October 2007. Emory Law School, Atlanta
- UN (2003), Integration of the Human Rights of Women and the Gender Perspective, Violence against Women ». Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Ms. Radhila Coomaraswamy, submitted in accordance with commision on Human Rights resolution
- UNIFEM (2006), Violence against Women: facts and figure.
- US. DEPARTMENT OF STATE (2006), Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, Tanzania, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
- US. DEPARTMENT OF STATE (2007), International Religious Freedom Report, Tanzania, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
The Africa for Women's Rights Campaign
Key facts
- CEDAW: ratified in 1985
- CEDAW Protocol: ratified in 2006
- Maputo Protocol: ratified in 2007
The Campaign
On 8 March 2009 the "Africa for Women's Rights" Campaign was launched at the initiative of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), in collaboration with fove non-governmental regional organisations: the African Center for Democracy and Human Rights Studies(ACDHRS), Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS), Women’s Aid Collective (WACOL), Women in Law and Development in Africa (WILDAF) and Women and Law in Southern Africa (WLSA). These organisations make up the Steering Committee responsible for the coordination of the Campaign.
The Campaign aims to put an end to discrimination and violence against women in Africa, calling on states to ratify international and regional instruments protecting women's rights, to repeal all discriminatory laws, to adopt laws protecting the rights of women and to take all necessary measures to wensure their effective implementation.
Country Focus: Tanzania
Although Tanzania has ratified the main international and regional women’s rights protection instruments, many of their provisions continue to be violated in both law and practice. The Coalition of the Campaign remains particularly concerned about the following violations in Tanzania: the persistence of discriminatory laws; violence against women; unequal access to education, employment and health services; and violations of the right to property.
Sources
- CEDAW Committee, Concluding Comments, July 2008
- Alternative report to the CEDAW Committee 2008, Tanzania CEDAW NGO Coalition
- Legal and Human Rights Centre- the campaign focal point in Tanzania
The Women, Business and the Law
Where are laws equal for men and women? 
The Women, Business and the Law report presents indicators based on laws and regulations affecting women's prospects as entrepreneurs and employees. Several of these indicators draw on the Gender Law Library, a collection of over 2,000 legal provisions impacting women's economic status. This report does not seek to judge or rank countries, but to provide information to inform discussions about women’s economic rights. Covering 128 economies, Women, Business and the Law provides data covering 6 areas: accessing institutions,using property, getting a job, dealing with taxes, building credit, and going to court.Read more about the methodology.
For detailed information on Tanzania, please visit the Women, Business and
the Law Tanzania page.
