TANZANIAN REPORT BEFORE WOMEN'S ANTI-DISCRIMINATION COMMITTEE, AFFIRMATIVE ACTION AND OBSTACLES DESCRIBED
Press Release
WOM/1063
TANZANIAN REPORT BEFORE WOMEN'S ANTI-DISCRIMINATION COMMITTEE, AFFIRMATIVE ACTION AND OBSTACLES DESCRIBED
19980701 Women in the United Republic of Tanzania had been adversely affected by economic structural adjustment programmes, traditions and low levels of education, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Community Development, Women's Affairs and Children, Mwatumu Jasmine Malale, this morning told the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.Measures to eliminate discrimination against women included affirmative action in employment, education and decision-making, she continued. The Community Development Policy of 1996 sought to address problems, including women's legal rights; economic empowerment; poverty eradication; and access to education and employment. It was being implemented by governmental and non- governmental bodies.
However, deeply entrenched attitudes towards gender impeded implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, as did harmful traditions and customary practices, she said. While the Tanzanian Constitution upheld the principle of equality, the definition of "discrimination" did not contain "sex" as a criterion.
These statements were made as the Committee heard a presentation of Tanzania's combined second and third periodic reports on compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, as well as responses to questions which had been posed during a pre-session working group. Members of the 23-expert Committee then commented on the information presented.
They expressed serious concern about the situation of women in Tanzania. The fundamental obstacle to improvement was the persistence of traditions through legal recognition of customary laws and an absence of programmes to change mindsets. These traditions affected women in areas ranging from health to credit, from inheritance to family relations. Changing life-long opinions was extremely difficult, experts acknowledged. Bolder efforts were needed to influence the national mindset through education, media campaigns and goal- oriented programmes.
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The practice of female genital mutilation persisted, despite prohibiting legislation. This illustrated that the Government must implement educational programmes concerning customary traditions, as a supplement to legislation, experts said.
While the Committee had been told that prohibition of polygamy would violate religious beliefs, experts stressed that the practice infringed on women's human rights. The law allowing polygamy should be looked at from an evolutionary perspective; before a law abolished it, slavery was also allowed. There were successful models of national legislation prohibiting polygamy without infringing on religious beliefs in private matters.
Experts expressed concern about the slow pace of transformation in Tanzania. Was there lack of political will? they asked. Laws contradicting women's rights had been identified years ago. What were the obstacles that kept the Government from amending these law more quickly? Why had it not been able to include the category of "sex" in the definition of discrimination?
The Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. today, to continue its consideration of the combined second and third reports of the United Republic of Tanzania.
Committee Work Programme
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women met this morning to consider the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women by the United Republic of Tanzania. It had before it that country's combined second and third periodic reports of 30 September 1996.
The report (document CEDAW/C/TZA/2-3) is submitted in compliance with the United Republic of Tanzania's treaty obligations and undertaking under article 18 (1) of the Convention, which it ratified in 1986. It proceeds from the date the initial report closed and covers the period from 1990 to 1996.
According to the report, since February 1990, the Convention was translated into Kiswahili and the women's national machinery elevated to a full-fledged ministry with a female Minister and Chief Executive. The Ministry has produced a women's policy which, among other things, reiterates support for women's rights and access to various national resources. It provides guidelines for women's full participation in various spheres of life, and encourages participation in activities geared towards better living standards and economic improvement.
Identifying specific programmes to combat poverty and give women skills for productive activities, the report says that credit access has been an area where many pilot projects have been implemented in Tanzania. In 1992, the Ministry for Women's Affairs developed credit guidelines to improve women's access. As a policy to guide credit delivery and recovery for women, it provides for the establishment of a Women Development Fund. The beneficiaries of the fund are women aged 18 years and above and young mothers, including young mothers who marry before they are 18 or become mothers before that age. The Fund's objectives include: mobilizing resources; providing loans; acting as a guarantee fund; creating employment; generating income; and offering business advisory services.
The report also highlights women's training programmes to improve technical, managerial and other necessary skills. Such training has been provided through the Training Fund for Tanzanian Women, a project funded by the Tanzanian and Canadian Governments. The project enhances skills in agriculture, education, health, environmental health, and gender and development, among other areas. To date, over 1,000 women have received training through programmes tailored to their needs. Other training programmes for rural women are incorporated in various women's projects funded by external donors.
On the issue of empowering women through law, the report notes that the main legal problems facing women are the issues of divorce; custody and child support; and property adjustment after the dissolution of marriage or death of
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a male spouse. The Ministry Responsible for Women's Affairs forwarded 10 pieces of legislation which relegate women to a position of inequality in relation to men to the Law Reform Commission. Following broad consultations, a proposal for a new law of succession was sent to the Attorney General whose office was to draft a bill to be presented in Parliament. It is anticipated that this law will meet women's needs for property ownership and inheritance rights.
Continuing, the report states that the 1971 law of marriage has been reviewed for amendment. Although the law protects women's rights, there is no clear-cut provision on the division of matrimonial assets. Many unemployed women end up with almost nothing at the end of a marriage. The same law does not protect women's reproductive health, as it sets the female minimum age for marriage at 15. The three types of marriage -- polygamous, monogamous and potentially polygamous -- allowed under this law pose a problem for women. Also, proposals for enacting the law of the child have been made to bring together various pieces of legislation which cater to the articles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. A report on the issue has been forwarded to the Attorney General for action.
A 1991 presidential commission identified 50 pieces of legislation that need revision to effect socio-economic change. These include laws that are oppressive to women. It expected that more women will be involved in the review of laws and that envisaged changes will lead to further advancement of rural women. The process, however, is very slow because of society's attitudes towards traditions and customs which cannot be discarded overnight.
Addressing efforts by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the Government on women's status in legal aid schemes, the report says that although the Legal Aid Committee of the University of Dar es Salaam is now operating on a new and broader footing by engaging in litigation, it can only help a limited number of women. The Tanzania Legal Education Trust has established the Legal and Human Rights Centre, which, among other things, will address women's issues. The Tanzania Media Women Association has a crisis centre that provides legal aid and counselling to women.
The reports also notes that, as a follow-up to the 1993 Vienna World Conference on Human Rights, the United Republic of Tanzania established the Human Rights Network which addresses, among other things, the issue of women's rights. A project was formulated with the objective of institutionalizing a mechanism for the Government to address human rights abuses facing women.
The report then details Tanzania's compliance with the articles of the Convention including: article 2, legal and administrative measures to eliminate discrimination; article 3, measures to ensure the full development and advancement of women and basic human rights and fundamental freedoms; article 4, temporary measures to accelerate de facto equality between men and women; article 5, the social and cultural patterns that lead to discrimination
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and to stereotyped roles for men and women -- the responsibility of both men and women for raising children; article 6, suppression of the traffic in and the exploitation of the prostitution of women; article 7, elimination of discrimination against women in political and public life; article 10, elimination of discrimination against women in education; article 11, elimination of discrimination in employment; article 12, elimination of discrimination in health; article 13, elimination of discrimination against women in other areas of economic and social life; article 14, problems faced by rural women; article 15, equality before the law; and article 16, elimination of discrimination against women within the marriage and the family.
Outlining Tanzania's efforts in complying with articles 2 to 5, the report says that adherence to the provisions of various statutes on non-discrimination continues. De facto measures, such as affording women opportunities to present grievances over legal rights, continue to be taken up by government institutions. However, efforts to use legal recourse are being hindered by unchanged cultural norms, attitudes and practices. Efforts have been made to sensitize both the public and key government officials on equality issues between men and women. Integration of gender considerations into the national and sectoral planning processes have been emphasized so as to address women's concerns.
Addressing article 6, the report notes that while women in Tanzania face the problem of violence against them, statistics cannot sufficiently show the magnitude of the national situation. Studies have shown the practice of various abuses, such as sexual assault and harassment, wife battering, domestic violence, and female genital mutilation. Recently, the media has helped to expose the incidence of violence to the public, and some civil groups have launched programmes to combat the practices by sensitizing the public about abuses against women. The media has also helped to expose sexual abuse, which appears to be on the rise. Concerned with this increase, the Government has responded in various ways, including an amendment in 1992 to the law on defilement of girls under 14 years of age, which now makes defilement an offence punishable by a minimum of 35 years imprisonment. However, stringent punishment has not deterred the practice.
In complying with article 7, the report says that Tanzania's 1995 election revealed that women had a long way to go. Out of 20 presidential candidates, only one was a woman, and she did not manage to go through the preliminary process. Also, with the coming of multi-party democracy, aspirants for local and party elections contested on the party ticket, and women competed with men on an equal basis in constituent parliamentary seats. The results have not been very promising. The outcome of the local authority elections shows that women got only 6 per cent of the seats. These results indicate that governments and political parties should intensify efforts to stimulate and ensure women's participation in elections.
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The report also notes that, while women account for 16 per cent of the members of Parliament, the number of women holding high-level posts such as ministers and principal secretaries has increased. In 1994, there were two female Deputy Ministers, three female Ministers in 1996, and presently there are two Principal Secretaries and two Deputy Principal Secretaries who are women. In the judiciary, women represent 15.7 per cent of total posts, while they make up 5.8 per cent of the country's private advocates. In addressing compliance with article 8, the report states that women's representation in the foreign service is still not impressive, and that the number of women diplomats has remained very low for the past 10 years.
Turning to article 10, the reports states that gender inequalities in the education process can be seen in the socio-economic and cultural norms and attitudes. Oppressive gender relations affect women's chances for education at all levels. Although enrolment in primary education is compulsory, the impact of structural adjustment programmes on families hit women and girls the hardest because families give priority to boys so that girls can stay home and marry or help with household chores.
On article 11, the report says that the situation of women's employment has not changed much in Tanzania since 1990. More women were engaged in the agricultural activities than males, but women were still lagging behind in the employment sphere, despite existing laws that provide for the equality of men and women in employment opportunities. Trends also show that women occupy middle- and lower-level positions compared to men.
Addressing Tanzania's compliance with article 12, the report says that economic recessions have had a negative impact on health facilities and health conditions of the population. Services that used to be free, including maternal health care, now have to be paid for. However, there are ongoing projects and programmes geared towards promoting health, including: health through sanitation and water; safe motherhood initiatives to reduce maternal mortality; the National Plan of Action for Child Survival; and access to family planning services.
A National AIDS Control Programme has also been implemented in Tanzania, the report continues. As a result of polygamous marriages, and existing attitudes to sex, sexuality and women's rights, women have little option in protecting themselves against the disease. Surveys in 1991 revealed that women were more at risk than men. The National Family Planning Programme has been intensifying advocacy, increasing resources for care, popularizing condom usage, and paying more attention to programmes aimed at young people. It is estimated that, by the year 2000, there will be 2,400,000 AIDS victims, and between 750,000 and 1,000,000 orphaned children. The report comments that the impact of the disease on women is great in terms of social demands imposed on them. HIV-positive women are still expected to produce babies and have to
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live through the trauma of infecting their own children. Even more painful, the report adds, women are anxious about leaving their children orphaned.
On article 13, the report notes that the social security system in the United Republic of Tanzania was not so well defined. Social security depends on existing arrangements, such as the extended family system. There is, however, a system for those who are in the wage or salaried sector. Few women benefit from the scheme because only a small percentage of them are employed. Available statistics show that about 32 per cent of government employees are women, which means that even if there are social security programmes or schemes, men will continue to be the beneficiaries because they are the majority of the working labour force.
Women dominate only the lower levels of the labour force, in casual temporary employment and in the informal sector, such as food stalls, the report goes on to say. In these areas, there are no developed formal, social security programmes. Women work in these difficult conditions and environments without any formal insurance or retirement benefits. They organize their activities informally depending on individual creativity and immediate needs. The future is, therefore, not considered because it does not address immediate needs and will be taken care of through the extended family system.
About 80 per cent of Tanzanians live in rural areas, comments the report, as it addresses efforts to comply with article 14. The trend is to develop such areas by providing social services, such as safe water, health facilities, appropriate technologies and good infrastructure. The decline in the economy, however, has hampered efforts. Government and non-governmental institutions are developing programmes to improve living conditions and reduce women's workloads in rural areas. A number of government institutions have engaged in disseminating appropriate technologies to rural masses, including women. The dissemination is done through workshops, in which participants are trained to produce the required technologies. In some areas, groups of youth and women have been formed and given materials for producing such technologies.
Turning to articles 15 and 16, the report notes that Tanzania's Constitution embodies the principle of equality before the law. In marriage and family matters, the law is clear in its stipulations. The problem, however, lies in practices that stem from cultural norms and traditions which continue to militate against women. This is worsened by the fact that the law requires the courts to consider the customs of the concerned parties before determining issues about the custody of children and the division of property and inheritance.
The situation of women has improved at a very slow pace since submission of the initial report in 1990, the report concludes. The reason behind this is that a patriarchal society cannot change overnight. However, the women's movement, together with men who show sympathy towards the cause, are working
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hard to remove cultural barriers that hinder implementation of some of the provisions of the Convention. Women are now more aware that they are objects of victimization and that they need to be vigilant in pursuing their rights.
Introduction of Report
MWATUMU JASIME MALALE, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Community Development, Women's Affairs and Children, introduced the combined second and third periodic reports of the United Republic of Tanzania on implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
She said that in 1990, a few months after submission of its initial report to the Committee, the Government elevated the machinery from a department to a full-fledged ministry. A similar step was taken in Zanzibar during 1992. The two ministries had formulated a Women in Development policy, which affirmed support for women's rights and access to resources, including access to credit. The policy also provided guidelines to ensure women's full participation in national life.
Specific programmes implemented by the national women's machinery focused on developing skills and training to give women better job opportunities and enable their participation in the decision-making processes, she said. The programmes also encompassed the areas of improving the legal status of women and policy reforms.
Measures to improve the legal status of women included the Law of Marriage Act, Laws of Succession, and a Child Law, she said. Legal changes also had made trafficking in women and children a crime. Property rights of women had been strengthened and legal sensitization to gender issues had been accomplished by use of media, such as pamphlets. Legal aid was now available to women.
Policy reforms included the Community Development Policy of 1996, she said. That programme focused on mobilizing the community to identify its own problems and interventions using locally available resources, addressing such issues as problems resulting from women's multiple roles in society, which contributed to a heavy workload. Overall, the policy addressed the issues of enhancing women's legal capacity; economic empowerment and poverty eradication; empowerment in decision-making; and improving access to education, training and employment. Implementation of the programme will involve government sectors and NGOs.
There were also political reforms and economic reforms, she said. The first multi-party democratic elections held in 1995 had led to the establishment of some NGOs, such as that for the professional organization of women. Economic reforms resulting from the structural adjustment programme had had an adverse effect on women, and achievements in the social services sector had retrogressed. The fundamental restructuring of the economy, which put emphasis on the free market, made it difficult for women to compete.
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Thus, women had been adversely affected due to low income, low traditional status and low level of education, she said. Attitudes towards gender also impeded the ability to implement the Convention, as did harmful traditions and customary practices that had outlived their usefulness. While the Constitution upheld the principle of equality, the definition of "discrimination" did not contain "sex" as a criterion. Measures to eliminate discrimination against women were still being taken, and the Government was taking temporary affirmative actions in the areas of employment, education and decision-making.
She then addressed questions that had been posed by Committee members during a pre-session working group, turning first to questions on article 2, legal and administrative measures to eliminate discrimination. In 1997, the Constitution had been amended. Individual rights, including women's right to participate equally with men in public and political life, had been given legal force by being included in the main body of the Constitution, thus enabling individuals to invoke those provisions when their rights were infringed upon.
Laws still existed which did not safeguard equal rights, she said. For instance, there were about 40 laws that contradicted the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights, although the country had signed on to that document. Laws that were oppressive to women included acts on spinsters, widows, divorcees, marriage and land laws.
A number of NGOs supplemented government efforts to sensitize the public -- especially women -- on human and legal rights, she said. The Government had put in place a subprogramme of community development on gender/women, to address legal rights through government and NGO collaboration.
The existence of a dual legal system constituted a barrier to the implementation of the Convention in some instances, she said. For example, in inheritance matters, three forms of laws -- customary, religious and statutory -- applied, since there was no uniform law governing those issues. In most cases, courts chose customary law as the law applicable to succession or inheritance matters. For practising Muslims, Islamic law was used. Aware of the problem, the Government had embarked on efforts to reform inheritance laws.
Turning next to article 3, on measures to ensure the advancement of women on an equal basis with men, she said the women's national machinery had been elevated to a full-fledged ministry. In 1994, Parliament had passed a resolution establishing a Women's Development Fund. The Government pledged an initial amount; future funding sources would include individuals, governmental and non- governmental institutions and donors. At present, the donor community was funding women's economic activities in an ad hoc manner.
The Women's Development Fund was structured to minimize bureaucracy, with coordinating units at the national, zonal and local levels, she said. It
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benefited women aged 18 and above, and young mothers. Some of its objectives included resource mobilization, income and employment generation, and business advisory services. The Fund now required qualified staff and grass-roots training.
Moving to questions on article 4, temporary measures to accelerate de facto equality, she said that at least 15 per cent of members of Parliament must be women, and at least 25 per cent of local government seats were reserved for women. However, those provisions did not guarantee that women's concerns were taken on board during parliamentary sessions. A women's parliamentarian group existed to share information.
On article 5, social and cultural patterns leading to discrimination, she said the Government had removed impediments to the Convention and women's advancement by outlawing some cultural norms and practices, such as female genital mutilation. It was an ongoing process, requiring sensitization and persuasion. Other efforts were directed towards revising school books to eliminate gender stereotyping.
On article 6, suppression of traffic in and exploitation of women, she said there were no solid statistics on rape and other forms of sexual assault for several reasons. Most incidents were not reported due to fear of social stigma, and the country lacked the resources for precise data collection. Legal penalties for rape ranged from fines to life imprisonment. Offences related to prostitution were punishable under the penal code. The ultimate goal was to enhance national efforts to protect the rights of children and women's right to personal integrity and liberty.
The initial report did not contain information on violence against women, although the problem was not ignored, she said. While statistics were not adequate, studies indicated the existence of sexual assault, wife battering, sexual harassment, domestic violence, female genital mutilation, and other violence. The media had helped to publicize the incidence of violence against women, and civic groups had launched programmes to combat those practices. As a result of public outcry, the Government had noted with concern the increased violence against women and responded in various ways.
Defilement of girls under 14 years was made an offence punishable by a minimum of 35 years imprisonment. Despite this, however, the practice continued for several reasons, including men's fears of HIV/AIDS. Witch doctors sometimes "prescribed" such acts for economic gains or to cure disease. Those "prescriptions" were punishable.
Prostitution was on the increase due to a number of social and economic factors, she said. Prostitution per se was not an offence, but controlling the activity was illegal and punishable. A new dimension of the penal code
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outlawed trafficking in human beings for sexual purposes. The Government was making efforts to increase public awareness of these issues.
Moving to article 7, on eliminating discrimination against women in public and political life, she said that all parties claimed to be gender sensitive. Political reforms had promoted the development of civil society, resulting in greater opportunities for women. Women composed the majority of voters, but elective leadership remained the monopoly of men.
On article 8, equal opportunities to serve as representatives of government at the international level, she said that much needed to be done to improve the situation. Currently, there were 26 ambassadors, of whom only two were women. However, there were increasing numbers of graduates in the diplomatic field.
On article 10, elimination of discrimination in education, she said that school enrolment had more than tripled since independence (1961), but that structural adjustment programmes had subsequently led to a gradual decline in enrolment. Although compulsory enrolment in primary school offered equal opportunities for boys and girls, there was unequal access to secondary education for boys and girls: 69 per cent of girls were enroled compared to 71 per cent of boys. At advanced levels, the situation was the same: girls had fewer places than boys.
The Government had not been able to expand public secondary schools at the same rate as the primary schools, she said. As a result, most girls were in private secondary schools, where achievement rates were lower than in public schools due to poor staffing, lack of necessary institutional materials and poor educational structures. Introducing a double-shift arrangement in urban secondary schools had increased enrolment there.
Since 1995, she said, the Government had been changing education policies and structures to improve the quality, quantity and gender balance for university and technical institutions. The Ministry of Education had taken steps to improve the education curriculum; they included developing sports in primary and secondary schools. To rectify the problem of gender inequalities in the enrolment of girls in the science field, pre-entry science programmes for female students had been introduced during 1997/1998.
With regard to questions on article 11, employment, she said the Constitution clearly spelled out the rights of all persons without discrimination to work and to equal pay for equal work. However, paternalistic attitudes adopted by employment laws impinged on the right to work, and the employment of women was restricted by local ordinances.
There were a number of social insurance programmes for women, such as a pension scheme for government employees, she said. Women were also granted
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allowances, such as on medical grounds, but many women were caught in a discriminatory regulation imposed on women officers. The Government had also begun the process of allowing the private sector to open other schemes of social security. Child-care centres were run by individuals and religious institutions.
In the area of health, article 12, she said women's and children's health had deteriorated due to poor hygienic conditions, heavy workload, undernourishment, frequent births and general poverty. Measures had been taken to meet the needs of the 30 per cent of women who had unmet family service needs through a national family programme, but family-planning education was not part of the school curricula. Female genital mutilation was a socially sanctioned practised in six of 20 regions of Tanzania.
Urban and poor rural women were at a disadvantage as far as access and control of formal credit facilities were concerned, she said by way of beginning to address a number of Convention articles. The majority of Tanzanians, about 80 per cent, lived in rural areas, and whatever measures were taken to implement the Convention would benefit rural women. She cited a number of actions taken by the Government to improve conditions for women, including institutionalization of gender impact-assessment programmes for rural women; addressing of basic social service issues; and achieving women's participation in community activities. Yet, purchasing power for women was low, which limited access and control over water, among other things.
A married woman was entitled to division of matrimonial assets, she said. Her entitlement depended on the extent of her contribution to the property, which did not have to be financial, but could consist of performing wifely duties. The Law of Marriage Act provided for three types of marriage -- monogamous, polygamous and potentially polygamous -- due to respect for individual freedom of religion and worship, including for those that allowed polygamy.
Finally, as a result of refugee influxes, Tanzanians in the north-west had been displaced, she said. The socio-economic and political impact of refugees on Tanzanian women had been quite traumatic. Environmental degradation, over-population, inflated food prices and subsistence needs, drug abuse, increasing violence among youth, broken marriages, prostitution and other social ills affected both men and women who lived near refugees. Nevertheless, refugees in Tanzania enjoyed the same rights as others, as stipulated by the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.
Committee Comments
Experts expressed serious concern over the overall situation of women in the United Republic of Tanzania, and expressed solidarity with the women of the country. It seemed that the position of women had not improved since the
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Committee considered the country's initial report in 1990, an expert noted. One bright spot in the report was the work of NGOs to provide legal aid, it was said. Experts called on the Government to provide more support for women and the NGOs working to change the very painful circumstances.
When a State was adopting structural measures, which generally impacted more severely on women and children than on men, there must be political will to ensure respect for human rights, an expert said. The Committee had heard description of a grave situation for women in health, violence, refugees, prostitution, and a variety of other areas. Rather than implementing isolated laws, massive investment was needed in education and health care.
Progress towards equality was hampered by entrenched and deep-rooted prejudices, several speakers stressed. Such customs and prejudices constituted the main obstacle to women in Tanzania, and had affected all aspects of their lives, from health to credit to family relations. Yet, there did not seem to be much effort to educate the population to move away from such practices. Until that was done, women would continue to be denied access to decision-making and development in general. The difficulty of changing customs and traditions was noted. It was never easy to persuade persons to surrender practices and tenets they had held all their lives, experts said. However, even the longest journey began with the first step, and efforts should be made to influence the thinking of the nation as a whole, and of women in particular.
Massive efforts were needed to change national mentalities, through education, media campaigns and goal-oriented campaigns, experts said. The fundamental obstacle to implementation of the Convention was the persistence of traditions through legal recognition of customary laws and an absence of programmes to change mindsets. Discriminatory practices and customs should be eliminated from a society whose government had ratified the Convention. This would require extreme commitment and concerted efforts on the part of political authorities.
A number of experts expressed serious concern about the existence of customary laws which often contradicted the rights of women. An expert drew attention to the delegation's comments that prohibition of the clearly discriminatory practice of polygamy, which was permitted in certain religions, would be an infringement of human rights. However, she stressed that the infringement of women's rights was also an infringement of human rights. Belief in Islam and practice of polygamy were not inseparable. There were successful models of separating the two, where national laws prohibited polygamy without infringing on religious beliefs in private matters. An example was her own country, Turkey. The United Republic of Tanzania should examine such models to make customary laws compatible with its national legislation, and the dictates of the Convention.
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Regarding female genital mutilation, experts said that, although legislation had been put in place, the Government must implement programmes to ensure that the population was educated on the question. The practice was a customary tradition, making it difficult to eradicate, and thus necessitating programmes to supplement legislation. Bolder action was needed, they stressed. What kind of punishment did this offence carry? an expert asked.
An expert asked about the 40 laws identified as contradicting women's and human rights. These had been identified in 1992. What had been done about it since?
As for questions of health, an expert noted that women's and children's health was in a state of crisis, due to poor sanitation, heavy workloads, customs that favoured men, and general poverty. While the presentation had indicated the success of family planning programmes, it appeared that there were still high incidence of frequent pregnancies. Maternal mortality was increasing. She said she hoped the figure provided was wrong; 770 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births was unacceptable.
The report generally lacked statistical data, which made the Committee's assessment difficult, several speakers said. An expert asked for more information on the total budget for the Ministry for Women, as well as the personnel allocated for that body. She also requested more information on the extent to which women parliamentarians participated in the legislature.
Another expert said improvements had been made since Tanzania's initial report, but efforts were still insufficient, especially in regard to review of legislation. What were the NGOs for women doing to accelerate improvement of conditions for women? What were they doing to counter the double standards of customary and legal laws? The law allowing polygamy, for example, should be looked at from an evolutionary perspective; before a law abolished it, slavery was also allowed. A law on genital mutilation was a good thing, but because that law affected a heavily rooted tradition, much more was needed to promulgate the eradication of the custom. There were agencies able to help implement and realize projects.
Another expert pointed out that at the time of Tanzania's initial report, 50 laws were cited as needing to be changed. The present report indicated little had changed. A holistic strategy was needed to improve women's conditions in all areas, especially in regard to practices that were culturally deeply rooted. It was of concern that women recognized their victimization and that men were beginning to empathize with them, while the Government had not changed the practices. She asked for information on the first stage of how resources had been used since the Women's Development Policy had been put in place. The resources should be used for programmes to eradicate practices, such as polygamy and female genital mutilation, which kept women unequal.
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Customary laws favoured men over women, a number of experts pointed out. Property and inheritance laws kept the cycle of discrimination in place. It was hoped the Government would take more steps in that regard before the next report.
The improvement of women's situation in Tanzania was too slow, a number of experts also said. Why did the Government need eight years to identify the laws that impeded improvement of women's situations? What were the obstacles that kept the Government from amending those law more quickly? Why had it not been able to include the category of "sex" in the definition of discrimination? All elements of article 1, the definition of discrimination, should be covered by the Constitution or by a law. There should be an anti-discrimination law or amendment, as well as an affirmative action one, saying that positive steps were being taken. Education and surveys were difficult, but they were absolutely necessary. That held true for statistical and other forms of reporting. It was not enough to know that genital mutilation occurred in six provinces, but the percentage of the population affected and the forms practised were important to know.
Many kinds of projects that should have been mentioned in the report were missing, another expert said. Why? Were the women unwilling to work with the Government, or was there no political will? If there was a resource problem, there were international resources available. The report was very short. The illiteracy rate was not mentioned, nor the causes of illnesses, and yet both those were important to understanding the situation in African countries. In paternalistic societies, women did not understand their role in development. They had to be educated to play a political role. Consciousness-raising programmes had to be promoted and ministries for reform introduced. If the process of reform was too slow, some mechanism or strategy had to be introduced to speed it up.
Article 14 on assistance to rural women was very important for African countries, she said. There had to be specific programmes for overburdened women who barely had time to get together.
Are the international conventions applicable in a country or does national law take precedence? an expert asked. If the former, then steps could be taken to counter the laws right away. That should be applied to discriminatory inheritance laws, such as girls only inheriting after boys and widows, or laws by which women were stripped of their homes upon the death of a husband. Further, what was the Government doing about violence against women, particularly against older women accused of witchcraft?
Some of the issues had not changed since the initial report, experts said. Was there lack of political will? The inequality of power between men and women was understood, but even so, nothing would change until the stereotype of women's submission to men was changed.
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