Civil society organisations join hands to save women from ‘oppressive traditions’

Arusha. About 10,000 women from pastoralist, farming, and hunting and gathering communities are set to benefit from a new project which seeks to save women from outdated traditions.

Dubbed Empuan, the project aims at amplifying voices of affected women from such communities to change the customs and traditions that endanger and undermine women, including female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriages.

The three-year project is being implemented by three partners, namely the Pastoral Women's Council (PWC), the Pastoralists Indigenous Non-Governmental Organisations (Pingos) and the Ujamaa Community Resource Team (UCRT).

Speaking at the launch of the project in Arusha on Monday April 29, PWC coordinator for justice and leadership issues, Ms Nalemuta Moisan, said the project will be implemented in the districts of Monduli, Longido, Ngorongoro (Arusha), and Simanjiro in Manyara region, to increase meaningful participation of women in leadership and decision-making processes.

"We hope that through this forum, we will be able to address various issues that women face in rural areas and lack platforms to voice their concerns. Our aim is to advance women's agendas and prevent pastoralist women from being left behind in development issues and ensure we eradicate gender-based violence against women and children," she said.

"We will ensure that we continue to encourage communities to abandon outdated customs and promote positive ones, ensuring women's rights are respected, women recognise their roles, and advocate for themselves, especially in property ownership including land, and also engage in various decision-making levels," she added.

Pingos gender officer, Ms Nailejileji Tipap, mentioned some of the oppressive customs in the communities as FGM, which still persists and lack of opportunities for women in various leadership positions.

"We are here creating a movement for women to understand and recognise their basic rights. Looking at the communities we work with, there are still customs that oppress women and deny them equality. There is still a perception among women that they don't have a chance to contest at any level, and their demands are still denied in various areas due to customs that silence them," she said.

Police officer from the Community Police unit in Arusha, Mr Erick Malecha, said they continue to educate women on economic empowerment to help reduce challenges of gender-based violence, noting that most complaints come from stay-at-home mothers who depend on their husbands.

“Thus economic independence will help to reduce these challenges,” he said.

Arusha Community Development Officer, Ms Blandina Nkini, said women who succeed in holding various leadership positions have a responsibility to ensure they advocate for women's rights, including issues of gender-based violence.

"Gender-based violence is still deeply rooted within our society and it continues. Women continue to suffer. If you have the opportunity to speak up even about issues of violence, help your fellow women suffering within the community," she said.

"We strongly emphasize that every community has its customs and traditions, but there comes a point where we need to look at which customs are outdated. Let's look at which customs are good to uphold and which ones oppress the girl child, it's time to speak up against them," she added.