High Court Judge Lucia Kairo has commended World Vision Tanzania (WVT) for taking a holistic approach to empower women through training them in entrepreneurship skills.
She made the remarks during celebrations to mark International Women’s Day which was marked at regional level in Kabindi Ward, Biharamulo District, on Sunday.
Judge Kairo, who was the guest of honour, noted that the empowerment of women was very crucial as Tanzania aimed at becoming an industrialised country.
She noted that most of the cases pending in court related to inheritance where widows were denied the right to inherit land and other properties after the death of the husband.
“In some cases, women are the ones who appear to initiate gender-based violence against other women,” she said.
Judge Kairo also appealed to women to be bold and contest for various various leadership positions, including being councilors and MPs during the forthcoming general election.
She commended Biharamulo District which was led by women, including Ms Saada Malunde, the district commissioner, Ms Hafisa Galihatano, the council chairperson and Ms Wende Nga’hala, the district executive director.
Expounding, she said concerted effort was needed to empower women who were basically the family’s backbone.
“Human health is central to the development of a nation since healthy people live longer and are more productive and contributing more to the nation’s economy…rural women, in particular, have continued suffering debilitating poverty occasioned by retrogressive cultural practices and marginalisation.”
The only source of financial freedom for rural women is productive agricultural enterprises, which unfortunately have not been strengthened enough to eradicate poverty.
This is despite the fact that rural women contribute immensely to agriculture and rural enterprises, fueling local and global economies.
They are active players to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Yet, every day around the world, rural women and girls face insurmountable constraints from the prevailing social, economic and political order.
About 830 women in most developing nations die from preventable causes during pregnancy or childbirth every day,” she said.
