{"id":132761,"date":"2025-05-11T19:26:07","date_gmt":"2025-05-11T19:26:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/women-mps-push-for-gender-responsive-ai-policies"},"modified":"2025-05-11T20:12:21","modified_gmt":"2025-05-11T20:12:21","slug":"women-mps-push-for-gender-responsive-ai-policies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/women-mps-push-for-gender-responsive-ai-policies","title":{"rendered":"Women MPs push for gender-responsive AI policies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Tanzania. <\/strong><\/span>WOMEN Members of Parliament have called on the government to fast-track the development and implementation of inclusive and gender-responsive Artificial Intelligence (AI) policies across strategic sectors, positioning women leaders at the centre of AI legislation and governance.<\/p>\n

The lawmakers urged political institutions including Parliament and Local Government Authorities to formally recognise and empower women leaders in shaping the future of AI frameworks.<\/p>\n

They underscored the importance of women\u2019s life experiences, grassroots connections and decision-making roles in ensuring that AI systems are inclusive, ethical, and reflective of community needs.<\/p>\n

The call was made during a capacity-building seminar for women leaders on AI technology, held in Dodoma over the weekend.<\/p>\n

The training is part of the FemAI Leaders for Africa initiative, a continent-wide programme aimed at strengthening AI governance by empowering women in politics to take the lead in AI development and to address disparities in political representation across Africa.<\/p>\n

Tanzania is the first among five participating countries to host the inaugural FemAI Leaders seminar for Women Parliamentarians, underscoring its leadership role in advancing gender-responsive AI discourse on the continent.<\/p>\n

Organised by OMUKA Hub in collaboration with Women Political Leaders (WPL), and funded by the Deutsche Gesellschaft fu\u0308r Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, the seminar was part of ongoing efforts to prepare Tanzania for the opportunities and challenges of emerging technologies.<\/p>\n

Representing the Speaker of Parliament, Chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Welfare and Community Development, Ms Fatma Toufiq said AI is becoming increasingly vital in sectors such as education, agriculture, and environmental conservation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Parliament of the United Republic of Tanzania is pleased to be part of initiatives aimed at understanding and leveraging AI technology,\u201d she said, noting the current lack of policy or legislation to guide the use and oversight of AI in the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no policy or legal framework to define how AI should be operated or supervised. Our goal is to establish mechanisms that protect those most vulnerable to harmful applications,\u201d she added, warning that women are often disproportionately affected by the negative impacts of AI.<\/p>\n

OMUKA Hub Founder and Special Seats MP (CCM), Ms Neema Lugangira, emphasised AI\u2019s potential to enhance MPs\u2019 capacity in political, parliamentary, and electoral engagements.<\/p>\n

\u201cAI is a powerful tool that can instantly compile comprehensive data. However, to truly benefit from it, we must develop a national AI policy,\u201d she stated.<\/p>\n

Iringa Urban MP (CCM), Ms Jesca Msambatavangu, said AI was a rapidly evolving technology that must be embraced.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen change comes, the only way is to learn. If Tanzania lags behind while other African nations adopt AI, we risk being left behind like an island and that is unacceptable,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She also advised caution in online data sharing, noting that AI systems rely on publicly available information and can be misused if safeguards are lacking.<\/p>\n

University of Dodoma (UDOM) Lecturer and Lab and Training Coordinator, Mr Jabhera Matogoro, said a context-specific national AI policy is essential.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe policy must prioritise ethical considerations, outline sectoral priorities, and identify national projects,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTanzania is among a few African countries developing AI policy frameworks in education. However, we still need to assess our readiness compared to other Sub-Saharan nations and set strategic national goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

He cited Mauritius, South Africa, and Ghana as examples of countries with established national AI strategies, while Rwanda and Kenya are applying AI in health and digital infrastructure. Senegal and Nigeria are also in the process of crafting their AI policies.<\/p>\n

Earlier, the Head of the Digital Transformation Centre Tanzania from GIZ, Ms Julia Schappert, said the organisation\u2019s involvement in the seminar aims to ensure AI serves African societies effectively.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur key goal is to strengthen Africa\u2019s leadership in technological innovation,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n

In a joint statement, Women MPs called for collaboration among public and private sectors, development partners, media, and academia through the Female AI Leaders Lab in Tanzania.<\/p>\n

They advocated for training, research, and widespread dissemination of the upcoming National AI Guidelines, particularly in education, healthcare, agriculture, finance, climate change, public service delivery, and security.<\/p>\n

They also proposed training for journalists on the ethical use of AI in political coverage, as well as the development of short, practical courses tailored to MPs and local leaders under the theme \u201cAI for Governance and Policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lawmakers further recommended the creation of a national platform to support women leaders in localising the National AI Policy 2025. This would include constituency-level awareness campaigns and the establishment of \u201cAI Community Champions\u201d to drive innovation from the grassroots.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the MPs underscored the need for robust regulations, policies and legal frameworks to ensure data privacy and protection for all AI users in the country.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Tanzania<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Tanzania. WOMEN Members of Parliament have called on the government to fast-track the development and implementation of inclusive and gender-responsive Artificial Intelligence (AI) policies across strategic sectors, positioning women leaders at the centre of AI legislation and governance. The lawmakers urged political institutions including Parliament and Local Government Authorities to formally recognise and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":132760,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[711],"class_list":["post-132761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-tanzania"],"yoast_head":"\nWomen MPs push for gender-responsive AI policies - Tanzania<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"WOMEN Members of Parliament have called on the government to fast-track the development and implementation of inclusive ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/women-mps-push-for-gender-responsive-ai-policies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Women MPs push for gender-responsive AI policies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"WOMEN Members of Parliament have called on the government to fast-track the development and implementation of inclusive ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/women-mps-push-for-gender-responsive-ai-policies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tanzania\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-11T19:26:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-11T20:12:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/sites\/17\/2025\/05\/sm_1746977815.354451.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"780\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"470\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/women-mps-push-for-gender-responsive-ai-policies#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/women-mps-push-for-gender-responsive-ai-policies\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Women MPs push for gender-responsive AI policies\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-11T19:26:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-11T20:12:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/women-mps-push-for-gender-responsive-ai-policies\"},\"wordCount\":798,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/women-mps-push-for-gender-responsive-ai-policies#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/sites\/17\/2025\/05\/sm_1746977815.354451.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"tanzania\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/women-mps-push-for-gender-responsive-ai-policies#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/women-mps-push-for-gender-responsive-ai-policies\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/women-mps-push-for-gender-responsive-ai-policies\",\"name\":\"Women MPs push for gender-responsive AI policies - 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