AfricaPress-Tanzania: TANZANIA Gender Network Programme (TGNP) has taken a driving seat to establish campaigns aimed at uplifting women roles in development in their respective areas across the country.
The development surfaced following a recent meeting in Dar es Salaam, organised by TGNP with five information and knowledge centres, which focused on how they can easily recognise and appreciate roles made by women in development areas.
TGNP Programmes Officer Ms Flora Ndaba said the meeting helped a lot to discuss some of the campaigns that will be used to promote women’s participation in all aspects of development from the grassroots level.
She said participants from the centres were able to discuss critical opinions, which will be used from the family level to inform women on what they ought to do to assist government in development agendas.
Knowledge and information centres participated were drawn from two Ubungo and Kinondoni districts in Dar es Salaam from Saranga, Makumbusho, Majohe, Manzese, and Mabibo.
Ms Angela Mfinanga, a representative from Saranga centre, said the meeting has been a great help to exchange ideas including the effective participation of women in education and training, which is a powerful tool for alleviating poverty and promoting economic and social empowerment.
In this year’s celebration of women, TGNP came up with a campaign to change attitudes towards equality and has been holding debates involving various stakeholders to discuss women’s role in leadership.
In the same development, Ms Janeth Mawinza from the Makumbusho centre said previously, there have been negative stories about women like considering them as family guardians, unfit for leadership and unable to make concrete decisions of which, she said were not true at all.
Also, TGNP in collaboration with the Youth Activist Forum (YAF), have been working closely with higher learning Institutions girl students, to identify and celebrate women’s leadership in various student leadership positions especially for those women, who were able to hold various key positions at their respective schools.
These platforms recognise the contributions of young people who have been able to bring changes in a society and also continue to attract young people to join and continue practicing them while in colleges.
TGNP focused on the practical promotion and application of gender equality and equity objectives through policy advocacy and mainstreaming, also to address gender equality as well as women’s empowerment through training, information, lobbying, and network building.
