CULTURAL CONSTRUCTION OF GENDER AND GENDER ISSUES IN TANZANIA

Gender, like all social identities, is socially constructed. Social constructionism is one of the

key theories sociologists use to put gender into historical and cultural focus. Social

constructionism is a social theory about how meaning is created through social interaction –

through the things we do and say with other people. This theory shows that gender it is not a

fixed or innate fact, but instead it varies across time and place.

Gender norms (the socially acceptable ways of acting out gender) are learned from birth

through childhood socialisation. We learn what is expected of our gender from what our parents

teach us, as well as what we pick up at school, through religious or cultural teachings, in the

media, and various other social institutions.

Social construction of gender refers to how society values and allocates duties, roles and responsibilities to women, men, girls and boys. This differential valuing creates the gender

division of labour and determines differences in access to benefits and decision making which in turn influences power relations and reinforces gender roles. This is done at various levels of gender socialization including family, religion, education, culture, peers and the media.

Gender and culture

Culture is an important capability that people bring into development. It influences development

through its various forms of expression; attitudes and behavior related to work, reward and

exchange; traditions of public discussion and participation; social support and association;

cultural sites of heritage and memory; and influences on values and morals. In this paper, we

address the issue of gender inequalities by looking at ways in which the cultural repertoire in the

Great Lakes region can contribute to women’s

Gender is a social construct which asserts that the expectations, capabilities and responsibilities

of men and women are not always biologically determined. The gender roles assigned to men

and women are significantly defined – structurally and culturally – in ways which create,

reinforce, and perpetuate relationships of male dominance and female subordination. Through

the process of socialization within the family, in educational institutions and other social spheres,

boys and girls are conditioned to behave in certain ways and to play different roles in society.

They are encouraged to conform to established cultural norms by being rewarded or punished

for their behavior. At times,

Gender inequality manifests itself in a number of spheres within the family, labor market,

politico-judicial structures and in cultural-ideological productions, for example in the mass

media. Values, norms, and practices enshrined in domains of social interaction may contribute

to fostering inequalities, reinforce gender related power differentials or increase violence against

women. For instance, the cultural practice of son preference may contribute to denial of girls’

access to education and curtail their opportunities in life. It may lead to early marriage and the

onset of childbearing. In addition, perceptions that politics and economics are principally the

preserve of males may lead to disparities in political, economic and social participation,

decision-making and leadership.

Culture refers to people’s way of life, systems of beliefs, values, rituals, interaction patterns and socialization which determine attributes, roles, responsibilities, and expectations in a society. It

determines what the society wants and expects from women, men, girls and boys. It defines the status and power relations between women, men, girls and boys.

African women have borne the brunt of cultural traditions, many of which havebeen described

as oppressive, and which limit the advancement of women. Maledominance has been cited as a major obstacle to gender equality. Friedl (1975:7) definesmale dominance as “a situation in

which men have highly preferential access, althoughnot always exclusive rights, to those activities to which the society accords the greatestvalues, and the exercise of which permits a measure of control over others.” Men are favored in terms of accessing certaineconomically and

socially significant materials and rights, such as access to land andproperty.

Divale and Harris (1976:521-38) defined male dominance in terms of an “institutionalized complex” consisting of “asymmetrical frequencies of sex-linked practices and beliefs…” Thepractices and beliefs, in this case, would instill prestige and status to the male gender

anddevalue the contributions and capabilities of females.The preferential allocation of rights may also be accompanied by attitudes andbeliefs about gender roles.

Sanday (1981:164) looks at male dominance from twoangles. First, is the “exclusion of women from political and economic decision-making”and second, “male aggression towards women.”

Sanday measures this aggression usingfive traits: (1) expectation that males should be tough, brave, and aggressive;

(2) Thepresence of men’s houses or specific places where only men may congregate; (3) Frequentquarrelling, fighting, or wife beating; (4) Institutionalization or regular occurrence ofrape; and

(5) Raiding other groups for wives.

Sanday suggests that the presence of thesefive traits in a society indicates a high degree of male aggression; while an absence of allfive traits indicates that male aggression is weakly developed (1984:164). This type ofdominance may be expressed in the cultural stereotype of ‘machismo’

or masculinity. Maleaggression against women does not necessarily lead to female passivity. In somesocieties, it is expected that women will fight back; while in others, it is assumed that

women will adopt the submissive role. But even when women are submissive, they willuse their own tools of resistance to show displeasure. Sanday posits that “maledominance is significantly associated with environmental and historical conditions” andthat domination of women is a

response to stress. Such stress may manifest itself inendemic warfare and chronic hunger (1981:171-2). The displaced aggression looking foran outlet is injurious to women.

It is important to delineate the root causes of male dominance in order tounderstand gender inequality and inequity. This can only be done by understanding the cultural context in which

the dominance manifests itself. Because cultures have their own organized systems which determine how members of that particular culture behavetowards each other and towards their

environment, they have the potential of empoweringor dis-empowering men and women. Mead (1963:284) argues that in all cultures, there isthe same range of basic temperamental types established on the basis of heredity. Thesedifferences provide “the clues from which culture

works, selecting one temperament, or acombination of related and congruent types, as desirable.” In other words, there arecertain universal tendencies which are particularized by context and

history. Theparticular traits solidify and become key to defining communities.

Gender concerns are as a result of cultural context and socialization in society. Examples of these

are:-

Preference for a boy to a girl child

Heir to property

Naming systems

Initiation ceremonies

Marital practices

Gender based violence

Around the world, SGBV has a greater impact on women and girls compared to men and boys, while its nature and extent varies across cultures and regions. Examples of SGBV are listed

under specific categories as hereunder:-

Physical violence Sexual Violence Psychological abuse

Domestic violence

Spousal beating

Battering

Femicide

Abortion

Confinement

Abduction

Honour / ritual killing

Murder

Female genital

mutilation and other harmful traditional

practices

Trafficking of persons,

including children.

Forced marriage

Witch killing

Rape

Defilement

Incest

Widow cleansing

Forced prostitution

Witch doctor treatment

Quarrels

Abusive language

Insults

Threats

Dowry related violence

Embarrassment

Intimidation

Divorce

Some cultural practices in East Africa

The expression of sexuality

Sex taboos also played a role in preventing pregnancy and acted as fertility regulators. In many

communities, heavy fines were imposed on husbands who could not show control. In extreme cases, if a man continued to commit the act of impregnating women to the seventh child, he was

fined and then castrated (1986, Meru District sociocultural profiles, p.124). Whereas one would not condone the castration of males (or FGM of women), one does appreciate the moral of this prohibition. Men were being called upon to exercise self-control and to respect women’s bodies.

Society put the burden on men as a way of ensuring that women remained healthy after childbirth and were involved in child rearing. Indeed, it was considered taboo for men among the

Kalenjin- of Baringo, Kenya, to have sex with their wives before six or more months after Among the Kamba of Kenya, if a man raped a woman, he was subjected to capital punishment.

The Kamba believed that if a man raped someone’s daughter, all the spirits of the dead relatives wrecked havoc on the community. In Pokot society, a rapist was required to send milk and goat

meat for the girl to eat until she recovered from the ordeal. Thus sexual violence was not tolerated and was surrounded by numerous prohibitions and consequences sanctioned by communities.

HyenasStealing Innocence in Malawi

Ed Butler explores the secretive and shocking world of Malawi's "hyenas". These are the men hired to sexually initiate or cleanse adolescent and pre-adolescent girls - some said to be 12 years old, or even younger. It's a traditional custom that is endorsed and funded by the communities

themselves, even the children's families. We meet some of the victims, the regional chief campaigning to stop the practice, and the hyenas themselves, and ask if enough is being done to

stamp out a custom that's not just damaging on a human scale, but is also undermining the country's economic development.

Inheritance of a wife

The practices of levirate (inheritance of a wife by the deceased husband’sbrother); polygamy;

dry sex in which women are expected to use herbs, barks, powders, cotton wool and so on to dry the vagina; the suppression of sexual expression among women; female genital cutting; and so on require re-evaluation so that the damagingelements in them are eradicated. In Zambia sexual

cleansing for widows is beingreplaced with non-sexual rituals so that the overall ceremony continues and retain itsvalue, and the same participants remain involved, but sex no longer takes

place. Female Infanticide

Female infanticide is the intentional killing of baby girls, due to a cultural preference forboys. The practice has existed in many societies since ancient times, and is currently still amajor issue

in many nations, particularly in Asia.

The babies are either killed straight after birth, or are intentionally neglected, causing theirdeath. Since the development of tests that can accurately establish the sex of the foetus,sex-specific

abortions have increased, particularly in societies with a tradition of female infanticide.

Femicide

Femicide is the murder of a woman, specifically because she is a woman. There are many forms of femicide, including rape and murder and serial killings. However, the most common form of

femicide is intimate femicide, where a woman is killed by her male partner. Femicide also takes the form of dowry murders, where a woman is killed because she does not bring enough bride-

wealth with her when she marries; and witch-killings, where women are pointed out as witches, and used as scapegoats for community misfortunes and frustrations. Femicide is linked to cultural concepts of male ownership of women, and the lower value accorded to womens lives.

Honour killings

“ Honour” killings are a form of femicide, whereby a woman is killed because of her actual or perceived immoral behaviour, usually by relatives (often her husband or her father), whobelieve that she has damaged the honour of the family. There is a high incidence of “ honour” killings

in Muslim countries. However, the killings are not permitted in terms of Islamic law,and are in fact rooted in ancient tribal custom. Indeed, “ honour” killings occur in countriesas diverse as

Brazil, Egypt, Italy, Uganda, and in many other nations where women are perceived not as individuals, but as vessels for honour of the family. Peace building

Some African tradition includs women in peace keeping. In traditional Africa women were often called upon to resolve conflicts. Maasai women, Noon’gotonyeilmuran, (“mothers of the

warriors or youths”) intervened during conflicts by running away from their homes in order for men to persuade them to return home. The women may refuse to return unless the warriors promise to keep peace. The women may also go into the battlefield and walk between the

warring parties. They walk among the chiefs and other leaders. Maasai women may also remove their lower skirts (olokesena) or their belts to show the warring parties that they value

life and peace. Also in some communities in Kenya, women may protest against any form of injustice by removing their clothes until they stand naked in the sight of men. Kenyan women did this in Uhuru Park in 1992 to protest the continued injustices and dictatorship of the KANU

regime during the clamor for multi-party politics in Kenya and the release of pro-democracy politicians and activists.

Female Genital Mutilation

The World Health Organization (WHO, 1997) defined FGM as all procedures involving partial

or total removal of theexternal female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs whether for cultural or other non-therapeuticreasons.The World Health Organization also classified FGM into four types:

Type I. Excision of the prepuce (Note: less common), with or without excision of part or all of the clitoris(Note: More common).

Type II. Excision of the clitoris with partial or total excision of the labia minora.

Type III.Excision of part or all of the external genitalia and stitching/narrowing of the vaginal opening (infibulation).

Type IV. Unclassified: this includes pricking, piercing or incising of the clitoris and/or labia; stretching of the clitorisnand/or labia cauterization by burning of the clitoris and surrounding

tissue. Consequences of Female Genital Mutilation:

Bleeding, shock and infection after the excision, sometimes resulting in death. Psychological problems stemming from the ordeal and its aftermath.

Problems during childbirth, which can endanger the lives of both the mother and thebaby. Problems with menstruation and urination, including pain, retention of fluids and

chronicinfections.

Sexual intercourse that is painful or impossible. Infertility.

Other health problems such as ruptures in the vagina during intercourse. The Wa-Nyaturu, wa-Mmburu,Barbaig, wa-Gogo and wa-Taturuare among the tribes in

centralTanzania that are still involved in FGM. Circumcision is also practiced in many societies in the Great Lakes region, and oftenserves as a rite of passage to adulthood. Some Tanzanian

communities are starting to adopt alternative rites of passagefor girls. In these rites, girls are secluded and ‘circumcised’ without a cut in theirgenitals. They undergo life planning skills and are prepared for the future through counseling. The life planning skills relate to decision-

making, adolescent development, gender roles and equality, relationships, teenage pregnancy, sexually transmittedinfections, and planning for the future (African Youth Alliance, 2002).

The positiveelements of the culture are retained while the negative ones are modified or eradicated. These alternative rites of passage give girls an opportunity to continue their education

andprotect them from the dangers of circumcision. The cultural practice of ‘unyago’practiced among the Digo of Tanzania is being reformulated. In ‘unyago’ girls are taughtby a ‘kungwi’

how to behave when they get married; how to take care of their bodies andhow torelate to men. In the contemporary ‘unyago’ they also learn how to assert theirrights and to negotiate for them.

HIV/AIDS

In sub-SaharanAfrica, 3.4 million new infections were reported in 2001, compared to 3.8 million in 2000and 4.0 million in 1999. The situation remains serious and precarious. Also in

Africa,54% of adult infections by 2002 were women. Moreover, women are in general infectedat a younger age than men. And they die younger, because AIDS related deaths inwomen in sub-Saharan Africa peak in women in their 20s, whereas the deaths peak inmen in

their 30s and 40s. The early infection of women is partly attributed to culturalpractices that deny women the right to make decisions related to their bodies.

Witchcraf

Witchcraft is defined as the power to exert supernatural harm upon another person or his

possessions, that power depending upon inherent evil qualities in the evil person (witch) himself/herself.Witches are believed to be naturally evil and anti-social as part of their

genetic makeup. They differ from sorcerers in that they have achieved their evil powers by study. Most witches are believed to be women.

Sorcery refers to the use of physical objects and substances to do harm to others. It is a very

potent form of witchcraft and its practitioners are mostly men. Men become sorcerers by training (i.e. by choice and achievement). Witchcraft, on the other hand is the use of supernatural powers and invisible forces to do harm to others. It is practiced mostly by women. In many

societies this is said to be an innate force. There is the belief that many womeninherit this from their matriarchal or other female forebears. Somehow it is said that womencannot refuse to

inherit this force because if they do, then the forebearers get angry andreign terror on the intended ‘ heiress’ .

Nyumba Nthobu

Nyumba Nthobu is a traditional form of same-sex marriage.This practice is found in western

Tanzania. The two women are husband and wife: they are traditionally married and they have children..The women share a bed as a couple, they live together, bear children in their union; they do everything a married couple would, except have sex.Nyumba Nthobu, is used by women

who are not able to inherit property due to cultural constraints.The culture is also being used as an escape for domestic violence. Northern Mara region has the highest recorded cases of

violence against women in Tanzania, according to a UN report. In the Mara region, nyumba ntobhu allows older women to marry younger women in order to

have children of their own and assist with the household chores. Women say nyumba ntobhu also helps them overcome problems of gender-based domestic violence.It is also an alternative family

structure for older women who do not have sons to inherit their property and whose daughters have moved away to their husbands’ villages. It offers a form of security for elderly women so they do not live on their own.

Medicine and Health

One area in which women have always excelled in traditional African societies is in health, especially reproductive health. Apart from being the protectors of culturaltraditions, customs and beliefs, women were also the preservers of indigenous knowledgerelated to herbal medicine

and spirituality. Women were involved in childbirth,gynecological treatments, cosmetic treatments, and massage techniques for expectantwomen. Midwives and birth attendants knew

the right diet for pre-natal and post-natalmothers. Traditional birth attendants were respected in the society. Aspecialist who deals with gynecological problems. She monitors the position of thefoetus, its movements, and general development. She prescribes medicines and

deliversbabies .

This was also the caseamong the Luhya and other communities in East Africa where old women knew methodsfor fertility, including the types of herbs to give to women to avoid pregnancy. In view of the distances to health centers and thefact that traditional birth attendants and herbalists

live close to the people it makes sensefor them to be equipped in order to deal with health challenges which face women. Areconfiguration of the role of traditional birth attendants, being

undertaken in Kenya,Tanzania and Uganda, could help reduce maternal mortality rates.

Divorce

Divorce is a gender issues when it is used as a tool to control, punish and humiliate women. The

rate of divorce in Zanzibar is still high despite government intervention. As the largest Kadhi Court in Zanzibar, Mwanakwerekwe District Kadhi Court had issued 160 talaks from July to

September, 175 talaks from April to June and 180 talaks from January to March 2014. In this year 1600 talak were issued by six Unguja Kadhi alone.

AT least 14 women suspected to have supported CCM in the general election in October 2015 against the will of their husbands have been divorced. The husbands decided to annul their

marriages just because of political differences. 47 women were divorced for voting contrary to their husband's orders in a tightly-fought ballot that remains undecided. some women did not take part in the election for fear of being divorced or for fear of violence, while others

complained that they were forced to cast ballots for candidates they did not support.

Gender relations is the economic, social and power relationships between males and females.

Rather than seeing women and men, boys and girls in isolation, gender relations requires us to

consider their power, benefits, opportunities, and rights relative to each other.

Gender relations are the ways in which a culture or society defines rights, responsibilities, and

the identities of men and women in relation to one another (Bravo-Baumann, 2000). It is a sort of

pre determined position it relates responsibility in the family/ society according to deferent

cultures depending on the domination of the male or female

Gender relations are power relations between men and women. The ideology that gender

differences between men and women are shaped by the exercise of power by men over women

underpins this definition. Changing these power relations entails women’s empowerment and

men’s conscientisation. The nature of power relation varies from space and time, but may be:

• Related to production (Economic power)

• Reproduction (health and children)

• Social power(education, religion, recreational)

• Political power ( political representation and decision making)

Gender agents

One of the understandings that underlies most theoretical approaches to gender differences involves differences in gender socialization. Socialization is the process that conveys norms and

behaviors to potential members of a group.

Gender socialization is the process of educating and instructing potential males and females as to

the norms, behaviors, values, etc. of group membership. Gender socialization is influenced by different institution which are commonly called gender agent. Gender agent include : families,

schools, peer groups, mass media, religious institutions, work place etc.These agent provide both formal and informal “training”

Gender Gaps ,discrimination, and oppression

Gender discrimination: occurs when one sex is treated either better or worse than the other on

the basis of sex.

Discrimination against women stems from cultural practices and societal attitudes that are gender biased while others are a result of policies and laws that do not address gender equality issues or have provisions that are gender discriminative

Generally all laws and policies have different implications on both men and women. In the report Gaps in Policies and Laws that Perpertuate Gender Based Violence in Tanzania twelve

(12) laws and policies were analyzed to identify gaps which contribute to the persistence of gender inequality, including Gender Based Violence.

Some laws and policies were prepared in the late 1990’s, to address specifically gender equality

and women’s interests such as the Sexual Offence Special Provision Act (SOSPA), 1998; the Land Act, 1999; the Village Land Act, 1999; and the Women in Development and Gender Policy, 2000. Evidence shows that, despite the existence of these laws and policies, gender

inequality is still widespread in the country because of existing gaps and limited enforcement of the Laws and inadequate implementation of the Policies. In addition, there

is a need for harmonization of some laws that contradict each other.

For example, according to the Law of Marriage Act, Revised 2002, girls are marriageable at the

age of 15 whereas at this age a girl is considered to be a child in the Employment Act, 2004; the Anti-Trafficking Act, 2008; the Law of the Child Act, 2009 and the Sexual Offence Special

Provision Act (SOSPA), 1998.

The Law of Marriage Act, Revised 2002 has various loopholes which cause the

infringement of women’s rights and abuse such as polygamy to continue. The Law recognizes customary law which impinges women on equal division of property when husband and wife

divorce or legally separate. It does not speak about domestic violence which is rampant in many marriages, it allows early marriages where girls at the age of 15 years can be married with consent from parents or guardians. The AntiTrafficking in Persons Act, 2008 is not explicit about

the trafficked persons within the country where especially girls from the rural areas are sent into towns and cities for domestic labor and prostitution. This problem is endured by many girls as

young as even below 14 years of age.

In the Sexual Offences Special Provision Act (SOSPA), 1998 marital rape has not been

considered. Rape applies “… where the girl or woman is not the man’s spouse or the man is a separated spouse…” Many times women are forced by their husbands to have sex without their consent for various reasons such as illness. In addressing Female Genital

Mutilation (FGM) the law only protects children less than 18 years, giving room for the practice to be performed on older girls and women.

The Employment and Labor Relations Act, 2004 makes the following provisions that affect women: two months leave for nursing mothers to start work in night shifts after

delivery, working overtime, and time allowed for nursing mothers to breastfeed their babies during working hours which is two hours. These provisions have implications to the safety and

growth of the baby.

The Land Act, 1999 makes a provision which states that “Where a spouse obtains land under a

right of occupancy for the co-occupation with the wife or wives…”There are few cases where male spouses register their wives as co-owners of land because land ownership rights by women

and girls are restricted by customs and traditions. In mortgaging matrimonial homes, the law requires that the spouse of the borrower living in the matrimonial home to have assented. There are many occasions where women are suddenly rendered homeless when their spouses

secretly mortgage their matrimonial houses. There should be more ideal legal procedures of involving the wives or partners in the process of acquiring mortgages.

In the Village Land Act, 1999 there is a clause on application for customary right of occupancy in village land which states that “A person, a family unit, a group of persons-… may

apply to the village council of that village for a customary right of occupancy”. This clause does not instantaneously enable women to be involved in the process for applying customary rights of land occupancy due to preventive traditional values and customs. Often times it is men who

apply for ownership of land and in the majority of cases they do not involve their spouses.

The HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control Act, 2008 makes a requirement for mainstreaming gender into HIV and AIDS plans. However, the problem often is on the implementation of gender activities especially where budgets are limited. The Law states that pregnant women

and the men responsible for the pregnancies be offered voluntary HIV testing but there is no mechanism in place to enable men to comply. Also the Law requires that “… any person who

has knowledge about being infected by HIV shall immediately inform his/her sexual partner or spouse”. Many people avoid testing because they shun away from pointing fingers at each other. If the wife discloses her HIV status the husband can turn around and accuse her of

unfaithfulness and she can be physically abused and chased away. Condom use is promoted in the Law but the problem is that female condoms are still not easily

accessible to them and not user friendly. Again women in the rural areas have no skills to negotiate for safe sex with the use of male condoms because of their subservient position to men. The right for treatment of opportunistic infections provided by the Law does not give women

that right where treatment is not free because women often cannot afford it.

Gender oppression is a result of imbalance of power between women and men. Gender

oppression occurs when one sex is treated in cruel, harsh manner or made to feel uncomfortable

or unhappy in socio-economic and political life.

Domestic violence, is a hidden act within intimate relationships where women are physically

and sexually abused. We have often read or heard from mass media about women who have been beaten and/or killed by their spouses although the Law of Marriage Act, Revised 2002prohibits a spouse from inflicting corporal punishment on his/her spouse.

Many women endure marital rape and beatings and they become trapped in these barbaric

acts. There are various reasons why women do not disclose these acts. There are cultural norms

where customs and traditional practices condone the harassment and abuse of women because they are supposed to be submissive to their husbands. Some religious beliefs do not

allow separation or divorce in any circumstance.

The economic status of women is often lower than that of men because women have limited access to resources. This situation makes women endure domestic violence so they can be provided for by their husbands. The issue of children is also very pertinent to women.

Hence, women endure abuse in marriages because they do not want to leave behind their children who may be harassed and undergo abuse by the women who take over their positions

after them.

Domestic violence has direct health consequences due to the fact that physical injuries

increase the chances of HIV transmission where sexual molestation occurs. In addition, women undergo psychological effects which cause trauma. A study conducted by WHO in 2006 found that 30 percent of survivors of spousal battery ended up with serious injuries due to

severe beatings. The normalization and acceptance of spousal battery do hinder adequate steps to be taken because of the reluctance by women to report the violence which is aggravated by

cultural, social and family pressures.

The Law of Marriage Act, Revised 2002 and SOSPA, 1998 have little impact, because

they do not protect unmarried couples from domestic violence; and do not define corporal punishment, thereby excluding many forms of domestic violence, including economic

deprivation. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is another form of GBV which is practiced by many ethnic groups in the Tanzanian society. The practice results in severe consequences on women’s health. FGM’s outcomes may include gynecological complications, psychosexual

problems, and maternal and neonatal mortality. FGM is a practice which is demeaning to women and girls. Societies which practice FGM also perform it to women above the age of 18

years. The SOSPA, 1998 only protect girls who are under 18 from FGM. It has been noted that older girls and women undergo the practice when they are found to have skipped it during their early years. This is performed by force, sometimes, when women deliver through the assistance

of Traditional Birth Attendants.

Early marriage for girls is rampant in many parts of the country because the age of 15 years is

legal for girl marriage, while the legal age of marriage for boys is 18. Girls are deemed mature enough for marriage once they begin menstruation, while boys are not considered marriageable until they can financially provide for a family. It is alleged that girls have less power to decide

about when and who they can marry than the boys and that girls are sometimes forced to marry men much older than themselves.

There are negative implications related to early marriages. Those implications can have a long term impact on the prospects of girls as they often do not complete their education. When they

marry they may not have opportunities to undertake further education and training because they will be too occupied with family responsibilities and taking care of their homes. It is likely

that these girls will become mothers at a young age, increasing risks during pregnancy and delivery which in turn increases maternal and neonatal mortality. Pregnancy and child bearing is risky for young people.

Women in Tanzania have limited access to property and inheritance rights. This is another form of GBV. The Tanzanian constitution; CEDAW; the Land Act, 1999; the Village land Act,

1999 and the Law of Marriage Act, Revised 2002 stipulate that women and men in Tanzania have equal property rights. Nevertheless, customary legal provisions and common cultural

practices tend to undermine women’s ability to acquire, inherit, maintain, and dispose of property

Majority of women do not have the same opportunities as men for education and economic independence. The Demographic and Health Survey of 2004 found that 64 percent

of men completed primary education, while only 58 percent of women did the same. Poor families tend to value boys’ education more than that of girls who may be taken out of school to assist with domestic responsibilities or get married especially in the rural areas.

Education is the foundation of everything which also facilitates departure from the bondage of poverty in which many women and girls are trapped due to lack of adequate education and

training