TANZANIA has made tremendous strides in the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number five which insists on gender equality and women empowerment, Vice-President, Samia Suluhu Hassan affirmed here yesterday.
According to the Vice- President, although the country was yet to attain the 50/50 gender threshold, it had managed to surpass the Southern African Development Community (SADC) target of having at least 30 per cent of women in decision making organs.
In parliament, she said, out of 393 total number of lawmakers, 126 (an equivalent of 36.7per cent) were women and that in the Zanzibar House of Representatives 38 per cent of Representatives were women.
“In the cabinet we have 18 per cent of women ministers and about 33 per cent of deputy ministers…this is a great achievement in the bid to ensure that we attain the 50/50 gender parity,’’ she noted.
The VP was speaking yesterday when officiating the official launching of Tanzania National Chapter of the African Women Leaders Network (AWLN), an event that was attended by envoys representing different countries in Tanzania, Development Partners, public officials and members of the Civil Society Organisation, among others.
Tanzania yesterday became the 14th country to have AWLN, an initiative that creates space for African Women to share their leadership experiences.
Since its launch in May 2017 in New York, ALWN adopted an action-oriented approach aimed at channeling the experience of African women in leadership as a tool to advance peace and security initiatives on the continent.
At the launching ceremony, the Vice-President asked women to come up in bigger numbers to vie for various political positions in the next General Election so that the country can be able to attain the 50/50 ratio.
She said by having many women in decision making bodies, any agenda for women was likely to sail through and that the country was able to develop.
She commended the move by U N Women Tanzania to launch the Tanzanian national Chapter which she said will benefit women and ensure their voice is better heard and their issues better addressed.
According to AWLN Tanzania Strategic Steering Committee (SSC) Co-Chairperson, Mary Rusimbi, the initiative aims to enhance the leadership of women in the transformation of Africa, in line with the Africa agenda 2063 and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“The official launch is also reflected in goal number 5 of the 2030 SDGs that affirms the importance of women’s equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision making in political, economic and public life,’’ she said.
AWLN Tanzania Strategic Steering Committee member, Ambassador Liberata Mulamula said AWLN Tanzania initiative is categorised in six priority themes that were adopted by the SSC.
They are women peace and security, women in rural areas, social mobilisation, young women leaders, financial inclusion and women’s economic empowerment as well as women in leadership and governance.
The launch of AWLN Tanzania involved 60 women leaders that were identified by the SSC through the call for application that was initiated in 2019.
