The extent of gender prejudice in Tanzania and how it affects women participation in politics.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent of gender prejudice in the Tanzanian society with regard to women participation in politics. The approach that we have used is to make a survey of the attitudes and mental orientations of the people so as to discover the extent to which they show gender prejudice. Our interest is to discover the underlying patterns of prejudice in different groups and communities so as to be able to formulate effective strategies of women liberation. The study was located in the City of Dar es Salaam which means the results obtained reflect the urban setting and cannot therefore represent the country as a whole which is dominated by rural dwellers. The main findings are as follows. First, the study has shown that awareness of gender equality or inequality varies directly with the level of education. The data further shows that the higher the level of education the higher the probability of championing gender equality or at least believing that gender equality is possible. Second, up to 80% of both men and women respondents believe that gender equality is advantageous and 70% of this believe that gender equality is possible in Tanzania. Third, the study has also shown that the middle age group is more supportive of gender equality than the youth and the old-age groups. The middle age group is, therefore, a dependable partner in the struggle for gender equality. Fourth, the study has shown that Islam and Christianity respond quite differently to issues of gender equality. In general, Moslems tend to resign to, or accept the existing gender imbalance whereas Christians are disturbed by it. This would suggest that Moslems are less supportive of women liberation than Christians. Fifth, the study has also shown that among the major factors behind the inequality in gender participation in politics are traditional and cultural beliefs. These beliefs include the so-called traditional division of labour between men and women to which nearly a half of male respondents and a third of female respondents still subscribed. Sixth, the study has also shown that the Tanzanian laws have inadequacies when it comes to the rights of men and women. Tribal customary laws which operate side-by-side with those of the United Republic tend to favour men as heirs and inheritors of family and clan property. Again, there has not been seriousness in enforcing the laws and bylaws that exist in the books and which might help in promoting women rights. For example, the laws and bylaws relating to early marriages or girls dropping out of school on instigation of parents and suitors. All in all, the study concludes that there is only low gender prejudice in Tanzanian urban areas if we consider the orientations of the respondents towards eight gender-related issues or variables which we have used to measure gender prejudice in society. We have used these findings to recommend strategies for gender equality in the concluding chapter seven.