Committee on Elimination of

 Discrimination against Women

845^th & 846^th Meetings (AM & PM)

IMPEDING TANZANIAN EFFORTS TO IMPLEMENT WOMEN’S CONVENTION WERE MALE DOMINATION,

PHYSICAL VIOLENCE, EMOTIONAL ABUSE, WOMEN’S ANTI-DISCRIMINATION COMMITTEE TOLD

Constrained by Poverty, Illiteracy, Tanzanian Women Reluctant to Bring Abuse

Cases to Court, But Government Reaching Out to Women to Change That, Say Speakers

Physical and sexual violence, combined with continued male domination as well as economic, psychological and emotional abuse against women, impeded Tanzanian efforts to implement the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Committee charged with the task of monitoring State parties’ compliance with the Women’s Convention heard today.

Presenting her country’s combined fourth, fifth and sixth periodic reports to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Margareth Simwanza Sitta, the Minister for Community Development, Gender and Children of the United Republic of Tanzania, acknowledged that, while there had been impressive success towards the Government’s goal of eliminating discrimination against women, violence against women remained a serious problem in the country.  That violence was characterized by threats, intimidation and battery, child sexual abuse, economic deprivation, female genital mutilation, sexual harassment and rape.

The Minister and her delegation agreed that human rights issues and women’s rights, in particular, were a new concept in developing countries and it would take time for the country’s courts to address those issues.  Domestication of human rights laws was still pending, but those laws would hopefully be in place before 2010.  Meanwhile, the country’s Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance had a budgetary shortfall, and although some judges were taking intensive courses to get up to speed, very few of them were even aware of international human rights conventions.

Women were also largely in the dark about their rights, which were constrained by poverty and illiteracy, the delegates said.  Under Fatwa law, a man could decide unilaterally to divorce his wife, and women had no real say in divorce cases.  Polygamy, like in other African societies, was a part of the country’s culture and tradition and, therefore, very difficult to change.  What was more, women were usually reluctant to bring cases of abuse to court because they were financially dependent on their male abusers.

However, the Government was trying to change all that, the delegation said.  The Ministry for Community Development, Gender and Children was reaching out to women through educational programmes to make them aware of their rights and which Government bodies to turn to.  The Government also provided free legal aid to vulnerable and marginalized groups, including children.  There was no independent constitutional court, but other courts had made decisions on human rights.  A national plan of action guided the country on women’s rights, although a monitoring tool was very much needed to assess progress.

In Parliament, women, regardless of their political parties, were united on national women’s issues and they were trying to reach a 50 per cent representation, the Committee was told.  Moreover, current national development and poverty-reduction strategies included gender mainstreaming and called for gender-impact assessments.  The country hoped to be able to report on those when it next came before the experts.

While commending the Government’s efforts to lessen the chasm between the genders, the Committee’s experts were dismayed by negative widowhood practices and inheritance laws that discriminated against women, and called for their repeal.  Cultural practices should not be at the expense of women, one expert said.  Many experts also urged the Government to recognize the importance of linking the battle to defeat gender-based discrimination to the fight against illiteracy, pointing out that efforts to eradicate the practice of female genital mutilation were linked to illiteracy, and stressed that the Government must summon the necessary political will if that fight was to be won.

The Committee will take up the combined second, third and fourth periodic reports of Slovakia at 10 a.m. on Monday, 14 July.

Background

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women met today to consider the United Republic of Tanzania’s combined fourth, fifth and sixth periodic reports (document CEDAW/C/TZA/6).

The Tanzanian delegation was headed by Margaret Simwanza Sitta, Minister for Community Development, Gender and Children, and also included Asha Abdalla Juma, Minister for Labour, Youth, Employment, Women and Children Development of Zanzibar; Maryam Joy Mwaffisi, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Community Development, Gender and Children; Augustine P. Mahiga, Permanent Representative of the United Republic of Tanzania to the United Nations; Joacquine De-Mello, Commissioner for Human Rights and Good Governance; and Anne Mazalla, Director of Gender of the Civil Service Unit of the President’s Office.

Also:  Radegunda H. Maro, Director of Statistical Operations of the Tanzania Bureau of Statistics; Rahma Ali Khamis, Director of Women and Children Development of Zanzibar; Lidey Kobona, Acting Director of the Ministry of Community Development, Gender and Children; Joyce Kafanabo, Minister Plenipotentiary of the Permanent Mission of the United Republic of Tanzania; Fatma Kiongosya, Assistant Director of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs; and Winfrida Rutaindurwa, Senior Officer of the Ministry of Educational and Vocational Training.

Introduction of Reports

Presenting the country’s combined fourth, fifth and sixth periodic reports, Ms. SITTA acknowledged that, while there had been impressive and significant success towards the Government’s goal of eliminating discrimination against women, implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women still faced serious challenges, with male domination over women continuing unabated.

She said that violence against women remained a serious problem in the country.  Physical and sexual violence, as well as economic, psychological and emotional abuse, occurred by way of threats, intimidation and battery, child sexual abuse, economic deprivation, female genital mutilation and sexual harassment.  The Government, in partnership with stakeholders, had taken steps to sensitize the public, law enforcers and the media on gender-based violence.  While there had been considerable improvement in the situation from what it had been in the second and third combined periodic reports, concerted efforts were still required to put gender relations on a more positive footing.

In its efforts to address the issue of violence against women, the Tanzanian Government in 2001 had developed the National Plan of Action to combat such violence.  The action plan, for both the mainland and Zanzibar, provided strategies and activities to be implemented by various stakeholders, and also focused on legal, social, economic, cultural and awareness-building activities.  Based on that plan, a national scheme for battling female genital mutilation had also been developed and was being implemented.

The fourteen constitutional amendments of 2005 guaranteed equality between women and men, the Minister noted.  Those amendments also increased the number of seats for women in Parliament.  The Constitution now provided that the number of women in Parliament should be no less than 30 per cent of a combined number of members.  The amendments further empowered the President to nominate 10 Members of Parliament, half of which should be women.  Those special measures had now increased women’s special seats from 47 to 75.

Ms. Sitta further stated that there had been a significant increase in the number of women holding decision-making positions in various public institutions.  As of this year, 6 of the 27 ministers were women; 8 of the 30 deputy ministers were women; another 8 of the 27 permanent secretaries were women; 3 of the 15 deputy permanent secretaries were women; and 22 out of the 77 of the country’s judges were women.

With regard to national policies, she said that gender equality had been elaborated in the country’s National Development Vision 2025, which stressed, among other things, the importance of the attainment of gender equality and women’s empowerment in all social economic and political relations.  Furthermore, the Government had put in place laws and regulations that prohibited discrimination against women and other vulnerable groups in employment.  The Government was also providing an enabling environment for legal awareness and services, aimed at reaching women in both rural and urban areas.  Challenges for women to access justice included “legal illiteracy” and the low number of lawyers in the country, in particular, in the rural areas.  The legal reforms initiated by the Legal Sector Reforms Programme were expected to enhance the access of women and other marginalized groups to legal justice.

Commenting of the law reforms as they pertained to women, the Minister pointed out that the Law Reform Commission had already recommended to the Government amendments on the laws that discriminated against women, including proposals on customary and other practices that prevented women form inheriting land and property.  On human trafficking, she said that no official data was available on trafficking in women, since that vice, where it occurred, was done in secrecy and in other instances it was mixed with regular rural and urban migration.  However, Government efforts to curb trafficking included advocacy and awareness creation.  With the support of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Government had established a support project to combat trafficking.  An anti-trafficking section in the crime unit, responsible for addressing terrorism, narcotics and money laundering, had also been set up by the Ministry of Public Safety and Security.

Turning to HIV/AIDS, she said that, in keeping with the Governments declaration in 2001 that the pandemic was a national disaster, a specific law on HIV and AIDS had been enacted for purposes of preventing and outlawing stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS.  That law also provided for voluntary counselling and testing, as well as the privacy and confidentiality of the tests.  Additionally, the Act criminalized the deliberate transmission of HIV and provided for punishment of that deed.

On maternal health, the Minister acknowledged that her country currently faced high maternal mortality, with most of the deaths involving women in the 20-to-34-year-old age group.  “In order to address maternal mortality, the Government has developed a National Road Map Strategic Plan to Accelerate Reduction of Maternal and Newborn Deaths in Tanzania (2006-2010),” she said.

On education, she said that, compared to the previous combined second and third report of 1996, there had been considerable improvement in the areas of primary, secondary and higher-level education, and the Government had registered impressive gains in implementing the Primary Education Development Plan in the mainland.  While girls’ enrolment had increased from just over 48,000 in 2003 to nearly 213,000 in 2007, girls’ dropout rates from school were higher than boys, owing to early pregnancies, truancy and time out to care for the sick and their siblings.  Because pregnant girls were expelled from school, the Government had initiated consultations with various stakeholders, which were expected to result in allowing girls to continue with their education.  Zanzibar already had such a programme -- the Spinster Act of 2005 -- under which girls were allowed to continue with their education after delivery.

Regarding corporal punishment, she pointed out that the law on that practice was still valid and relevant to the Tanzanian education system.  However, the standards had been qualified to provide for modalities and limits.  Due to cultural, traditional and religious beliefs and practices, it would take time to abolish corporal punishment in the country’s schools.  For that reason, more work was needed to sensitize and create awareness that would help to change mindsets.

Concluding, Ms. Sitta underscored her Government’s “very high political will” to end violence against women, noting that, on 24 May this year, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete had launched and endorsed a national campaign of “Say No To Violence Against Women”, in support of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s call for global action to end violence against women.

Experts’ Comments and Questions

DUBRAVKA ŠIMONOVIĆ, Committee Chairperson and expert from Croatia, congratulated the United Republic of Tanzania on ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Convention on 12 January 2006, and encouraged it to consider acceptance of the amendment of to article 20.1 of the Convention on meeting time.

PRAMILA PATTEN, expert from Mauritius, asked if the new definition of discrimination provided for recently by a constitutional amendment had been tested in the courts.  Was it broad enough to cover direct and indirect discrimination?  The Convention had been translated into Swahili.  Was the Optional Protocol also being translated into Swahili?

YOKO HAYASHI, expert from Japan, asked what kind of remedies were available to victims of discrimination.  Were they ordered by the judicial court or the Human Rights Institute?  Did the Government provide free legal aid to victims?

CORNELIS FLINTERMAN, expert from the Netherlands, asked if a constitutional court existed to address protection of women’s human rights.

VIOLETA NEUBAUER, expert from Slovenia, asked what coordination and monitoring mechanisms had been developed to work towards implementation of the Convention.  Were gender focal desks set up in local authority offices in all of the country’s regions?  What coordination and monitoring mechanisms existed for gender mainstreaming?

Ms. ŠIMONOVIĆ said that, now that women filled 30 per cent of parliamentary seats, those women parliamentarians should be involved in providing the Committee with concluding comments and answers to its questions.

Country Response

A delegate said human rights issues, and women’s rights in particular, were a new concept in developing countries.  It would take time, therefore, for the country’s courts to address those issues.  There were very few cases in which women brought allegations of discrimination before the courts.  However, the country’s judges must be sensitized, so they could make use of international conventions.  At present, very few judges were even aware of such conventions, but some were now taking intensive courses on the subject.  Domestication of human rights laws was still pending, but those laws would hopefully be in place before 2010.  Current national development and poverty reduction strategies included gender mainstreaming and called for gender-impact assessments.   Hopefully, the delegation could report on those assessments the next time it came before the Committee.

Continuing, she said that the Government provided free legal aid to vulnerable and marginalized groups, including children.  There was no independent constitutional court, but other courts had made decisions on human rights.  A national plan of action guided the country on women’s rights.  But, indeed, a monitoring tool was very much needed to assess progress.

Polygamy was part of culture and tradition of African societies, she replied to a question.

Another delegate said that, in 2006, Parliament had created a commission to protect women’s and children’s rights, as provided for under the Constitution.  It also organized seminars and other awareness-raising programmes to help women and children understand their rights.  The Zanzibar Women’s Lawyers Association helped women and the Zanzibar Women’s Legal Service provided free aid.  The Ministry of Community Development, Gender and Children had gender monitoring units.  Gender focal points had been set up in all Government ministries.

Another delegate added that gender focal points existed at the ministerial level, which coordinated its work through regional- and local-level authorities.  Gender mainstreaming had occurred in Government ministries and institutions, and ministry officials were undergoing gender-sensitivity training.

Another delegate noted that legislators were about to finalize the Children’s Act, with the support of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

A gender committee was being set up in all ministries and at the regional level, another delegate said, adding that their creation in remote villages was a challenge.

Experts’ Comments and Questions

GLENDA P. SIMMS, expert from Jamaica, lauded the recent increase of women in Parliament and encouraged women parliamentarians to work together on women’s issues, across party lines.  Minority women must also become parliamentarians in the United Republic of Tanzania.  She asked why women were called “spinsters”, saying that was a degrading term.  Also, why were women looked down upon just because they were unmarried?  She also called for efforts to end polygamy, which was a practice that really only served men.

DORCAS COKER-APPIAH, expert from Ghana, criticized negative widowhood practices and inheritance laws that discriminated against women, saying that those should be repealed.  Cultural practices should not be at the expense of women.  The political will must be summoned to protect women’s rights.  What was the time frame to repeal such discriminatory laws, particularly those that negatively impacted women?

HEISOO SHIN, expert from the Republic of Korea, said the situation of violence against women, rape, female genital mutilation, the killing of older women and sexual harassment was a national emergency in the United Republic of Tanzania.  The extent of domestic violence in the country was not known.  How long would the national campaign launched in May to combat those scourges last?   Given that the Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance was not independent and lacked sufficient staff, training and local offices, she asked what kind of resources would be allocated to that body.

FERDOUS ARA BEGUM, expert from Bangladesh, said the country needed a separate law on domestic violence.  What was the budget for the national action plan to end violence against women that had been launched in 2001?  It did not appear to be sufficiently funded.  Also, had a review been conducted of the plan?  She asked for data on criminal charges and sentences brought against rapists.

MARIA REGINA TAVARES DA SILVA, expert from Portugal, criticized the practices of female genital mutilation, polygamy, sexual harassment, early marriages and the killing of widows, among others.  Too many women’s lives were shaped by negative cultural practices that treated women as inferior to men.  It was not enough to change laws.  Much more comprehensive action was needed, including education involving all stakeholders of society.  Men should be the first to repeal practices that were degrading to women.  How was the Government going to pursue more productive action to change negative customs and practices?

Ms. HAYASHI, expert from Japan, said the practice of female genital mutilation was closely linked to illiteracy.  Efforts to eradiate the practice were more geared towards education than prosecution, but both were needed.

Country Response

Ms. SITTA said that, in Parliament, women, regardless of their political parties, were united in terms of women’s issues and they were trying to reach a 50 per cent representation.  Poverty and illiteracy were the major constraints to achieving women’s rights.  Poor women were reluctant to bring cases of abuse to court because they were financially dependent on their male abusers.

A delegate said that, under Fatwa law, women had no say in divorce cases.  A man could decide unilaterally to divorce his wife.  Most women did not know their rights, but the Ministry for Community Development, Gender and Children was working to change that through education.  Female genital mutilation was not a problem in Zanzibar.

The “Say No to Violence against Women” campaign, which sought to obtain 1 million signatures, would continue, she said.  Government officials were working with law enforcement, prison officers, magistrates, the media and non-governmental organizations to end violence.

Another delegate acknowledged that the Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance had a budgetary shortfall.  The Prime Minister and the President were aware of that shortfall and were working to alleviate it.  The Commission was working to sensitize the masses on good governance.  Several Government bodies often performed the same duties, making it difficult for the public to know where to lodge complaints.  The Government was working to educate them on the functions of the different Government offices.

Another delegate said that gender-sensitivity officers had been installed in police stations to educate police officers on domestic violence cases.

Muslims comprised 50 per cent of the population, another delegate explained, adding that Muslim men were allowed to have up to four wives.  The issue was very sensitive.  New ideas were needed to address polygamy, the rights of the child and other practices that were shrouded in religion.

Experts’ Comments and Questions

SAISUREE CHUTIKUL, expert from Thailand, asked for data on violence classified by age.  The community development officers in villages throughout the country were the answer to helping to end domestic violence.  More funds must be allocated to strengthen the work and network of those officers.  She called on the delegation to look within the ministries to see how they could prevent violence against women.  Instead of only a campaign to end such violence, a campaign should be developed to focus on loving women.  Did legislation aimed at ending trafficking include provisions for victims’ assistance and protection, and was it based on the Palermo Convention?  Were girls involved in forced domestic and agricultural labour?  The Government should conduct a study on trafficking.

Country Response

Ms. SITTA thanked the experts for their numerous suggestions.  Non-governmental organizations were already working to end violence against women and the Government was collaborating with them.  Trafficking in women was mainly of rural women sent to urban areas, but there was no reliable data on it.  Conducting a study on trafficking was a good idea, she said, thanking the Committee expert for that suggestion.  Poor rural families sent their daughters to work as domestic labourers in urban areas.  The Government was working to ensure that such girls were treated fairly and received fair salaries and schooling.

Another delegate said that, indeed, child labour was a problem for both girls and boys.  Two programmes had been launched with support from the International Labour Organization (ILO) to end child labour and enable children subjected to labour to stop working and go to school.

Experts’ Comments and Questions

MERIEM BELMIHOUB-ZERDANI, expert from Algeria, asked if the United Republic of Tanzania had received its share of official development assistance (ODA).   Muslim customs were not an excuse for negating women’s human rights and for not advancing the cause of women in the country.  Other Muslim nations had achieved women’s advancements and had allowed women married to foreign men to pass on their citizenship to their children.  The United Republic of Tanzania must make greater efforts to follow suit.

VIOLETA NEUBAUER, expert from Slovenia, asked whether many women were heads of embassies or overseas missions.

Country Response

The Government was working on a dual citizenship act to allow women to pass on their citizenship to their children, a delegate said.

Another delegate said the number of women in decision-making posts was increasing.

A member of the delegation declared that the Tanzanian Government took seriously the protection of albinos and, in collaboration with other stakeholders, was doing everything to ensure that they were not subjected to any discrimination.  Also, the Government was taking sensitization and awareness programmes to the communities, with the aim of educating the public at large that albinos were “normal human beings”.  In that regard, she commended the media and the schools for a fine job of informing and educating the public.  President Kikwete had taken the issue to a higher level, by appointing an albino as a Member of Parliament.  That Member was sending a further positive message about albinos and their rights.

Experts’ Comments and Questions

HANNA BEATE SCHÖPP-SCHILLING, expert from Germany, wanted clarification on why the Constitution was not specific about the kinds of posts reserved for women.

Country Response

A delegation member explained that, instead of having every regulation on discrimination written into the Constitution, the Government thought it was more effective and practical to utilize “policy circulars”, which were considered to be much more meaningful in effecting policy and achieving results.

Another delegate explained that no policy regarding appointments of women into positions of responsibility was carried out without a thorough examination of whether the women were qualified to carry out the functions of their new offices.  That was the reason for the sensitization and training programmes tailored to prepare women for positions, she added.

Experts’ Comments and Questions

Ms. BELMIHOUB-ZERDANI, expert from Algeria, asked what measures had been taken to increase women’s awareness of the ways they could participate in the country’s political activities.  She asked if political parties were subsidized by the Government and, if so, suggested that such subsidies should be dependent on the number of positions that were allocated to women.  Such a system had been employed successfully in some other countries.

Ms. BEGUM, expert from Bangladesh, asked if the Government had considered funding legal-aid clinics for women, especially in the rural areas, to make them aware of their legal rights.  She also wanted to know how the Government was dealing with the high rate of rape, which it had acknowledged was on the rise.

Country Response

Responding to the question on whether political parties received Government subsidies and how that translated into women’s empowerment, a delegate said that the current position for subsidies depended on the proportion of seats each party had in Parliament.  Regarding programmes on gender-based sensitization for judges and magistrates, efforts by various entities were in place, which aimed at making them fully aware of women’s rights.  Confirming the contents of the report, she acknowledged that the incidence of rape was increasing to the extent that the Government was considering conducting a study to help it understand why that was happening.  She suggested that it was being reported now because of greater awareness of the problem.  “We’re not sure if it is because of the heightened level of awareness activities through sensitization and the media interest.”

Experts’ Comments and Questions

ZOU XIAOQIAO, expert from China, noting that the country had made great efforts to increase girls’ education opportunities, asked why -- beyond the reasons cited in the report -- there had been such an increase in girls’ dropout rate.  She urged the Government to come up with a plan of action on education, which incorporated both the Beijing Action Plan and the relevant parts of the Millennium Development Goals.  She further asked if reproductive health courses were available in schools, and what, if any, literacy classes were available.  She also wanted to know why there was such a big gap between rural and urban literacy levels and what Government-organized literacy campaigns had been planned, if any. Literacy and anti-poverty campaigns went hand-in-hand, and any efforts to combat one without a plan to fight the other would not succeed.

Experts’ Comments and Questions

NAELA MOHAMED GABRE, expert from Egypt, said that the United Republic of Tanzania should adopt a minimum marriage age of 18 for girls, as other Muslim countries had, including Egypt.  She lamented the lack of quality education for women, in rural areas in particular.  What was the Government doing to change that?  Also, what technical education was available for girls?  What was the Government’s approach to helping very poor women, many of whom had to sacrifice schooling in order to work to feed their families?

Country Response

A delegate said the budget for rural programmes focused on education, infrastructure development, water and health services.  Education accounted for 18 per cent of the funding.  The Ministry of Community Development, Gender and Children had technical and life-training programmes for girls and adults.

Another delegate said the Government was building more secondary schools in rural areas to ensure education for children there.

Experts’ Comments and Questions

MAGALYS AROCHA DOMINGUEZ, expert from Cuba, noting that more than 70 per cent of the population was employed in the agricultural sector, asked about the impact of laws concerning agriculture on women’s access to land ownership.  How many women were benefiting annually from the micro-financing programme begun in 2005, and had that number increased?  Concerning racial discrimination against nomadic groups, were there any specific programmes to assist women in those groups?

Ms. XIAOQIAO, expert from China, asked for data on women’s employment distribution.  Did women have equal rights in terms of pay and pensions?  Had any measures been undertaken to end employment discrimination against women and sexual harassment in the workplace?  Were any temporary special measures being adopted to implement article 4 of the Convention?

Ms. PATTEN, expert from Mauritius, asked how the Government was addressing concerns of the informal sector.  What efforts were being undertaken to ensure better implementation of the labour laws?  How strong was the labour inspectorate?  What institution was responsible for adjudicating cases related to employment?

Country Response

A delegate said that the Government had created programmes to implement its microfinance policy, including a small entrepreneurs loan facility, which operated in 14 of the country’s 21 regions.  It gave loans to small-scale businesses, 63 per cent of which were women-owned and women-operated.  There was also a small industrial development organization to empower women in small-scale businesses.  To assist poor women, the Government had developed programmes to provide mothers with young children under the age of 5 with free health-care services.   The Government was also trying to develop new strategies for income-generation for poor people, particularly women.

Another delegate said that community development officers worked in rural areas to encourage women to form cooperatives.  Rural women were also assisted through a women’s development fund.

The country report included all available statistics, another delegate said, adding that specialized surveys were needed to fill the gaps of missing information on such concerns as violence against women.  Government policy stipulated that men and women could apply equally for any job.  Affirmative action existed, whereby an employer must choose a woman applicant over an equally qualified male applicant.  Employment in the information sector was not monitored by the Government, and the Government needed to do more in that regard.  The Ministry of Community Development, Gender and Children had a women information centre to assist with interviews and other job-related matters.  A labour relations centre posted all public openings.

In terms of temporary special measures, she said that progress was indeed being made towards achieving the target of 50 per cent representation of women in all public- and private-sector job categories.  Schools existed for nomadic girls.  Community development officers were mobilizing women to participate in entrepreneurship.  There were no centres that dealt specifically with women’s discrimination in the workplace, but governmental and non-governmental organizations helped those women through various programmes.  Act 11 of 2005 prohibited discrimination in the workplace on the basis of gender, marital status, pregnancy and disability.  It also prohibited sexual harassment against women in the workplace.

Experts’ Comments and Questions

SILVIA PIMENTEL, expert from Brazil, asked the delegation to elaborate on the Government’s 2006-2010 national road map to curb maternal mortality.  What was the Government doing to ensure that all women in rural areas had access to health services and fully understood information on HIV/AIDS prevention, as well as related services available to them?

Mr. FLINTERMAN, expert from the Netherlands, asked if the Women’s Bank had been set up.  What was the Government’s role in it?  Would it be run by women?  Did the Economic Empowerment Council, aimed at providing soft loans to women, have women members?  Were sports for girls and boys compulsory in primary education?

Country Response

A delegate said that the Government was instituting methods to build capacity for traditional birth attendants, so they could better prepare women for childbirth.  The Government was also looking into the possibility of having maternal homes for rural pregnant women so they could be well cared for in times of need.  Health-care facilities lacked sufficient staff, but services were available in all health-care facilities to address HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.  Such facilities were training personnel to be gender sensitive.

Experts’ Comments and Questions

Ms. GABRE, expert from Egypt, noting that, under Islamic law, women had half the inheritance rights of men, asked the delegation to elaborate on efforts to expand women’s rights in that regard.

ANAMAH TAN, expert from Singapore, asked when the Women’s Bank would become operational.  How many women and men benefited from training in rural areas?  What were the total funds disbursed to the country’s 300,000 women entrepreneurs?

Ms. SCHÖPP-SCHILLING, expert from Germany, said the report lacked statistics on the illiteracy rate among adult rural women disaggregated according to age.  What groups were reached by literacy programmes?  What per cent of the national education budget was earmarked for adult literacy programmes?  She asked the delegation to elaborate on women’s land rights.  Also, how many women sat on land administration boards?  What were food taboos, and what was their origin?  What harmful practices made it difficult for women to access health services?

Ms. SIMMS, expert from Jamaica, said there must be a national strategy to build on positive cultures and attitudes in rural areas to advance women’s causes.

Country Response

A delegate explained that the United Republic of Tanzania was proud to have on its laws the Land Act, in which women and gender had been prominently mainstreamed.  The Act made it mandatory for women to take part in “village councils”, for instance, thereby furthering their empowerment.  Another delegate stated that women had the right to complain about any discrimination they experienced at the community level.  They did so through the extension and community development officers of the local government authorities, as part of the monitoring system used in evaluating the various initiatives that were carried out at the community level.

Another member of the delegation said that, while illiteracy figures were not readily available, women in both rural and urban areas had access to long-distance learning programmes.  On taboos, a delegate explained that community development officers were widely engaged in educating communities about the negative effects of taboos, which were often practiced out of ignorance or belief in witchcraft.

The delegate said that killing albinos was becoming a “serious problem” in the country.  She said the practice was largely based on the fallacious belief that possession of any part of an albino, a hand for instance, led to wealth.  That belief had regrettably resulting the killing of innocent albinos.  The Government was working to intensify educational programmes that were meant to reverse that unnecessary loss of life.

Experts’ Comments and Questions

RUTH HALPERIN-KADDARI, expert from Israel, wanted to know what steps were being taken to change the position on marital rape, an issue on which the report was silent.  She also asked about the monetary rights of divorced women.  The report had made only “vague” references to both issues, failing to address them in any depth.  She also sought clarification on laws governing the custody of children, because the current situation automatically considered the children to belong to the man.

Ms. COKER-APPIAH, expert from Ghana, said the Land Act did not, by itself, address the issue of the women’s rights.  She asked when the Government intended to repeal all discriminatory laws from its statutes.

Ms. BELMIHOUB-ZERDANI, expert from Algeria, addressed issues of legal age of consent, and wondered why there was a different standard for boys and girls.  She suggested that 18 should be recognized as the age applicable for both.  Additionally, she noted that Tanzanian courts had historically endeavoured to resolve the issue of equal rights for men and women, but implementation had been lagging.  It was unacceptable that men and women did not enjoy the same rights in all spheres.

Ms. TAN, expert from Singapore, asked what initiatives had been taken to guarantee all persons an equal right to file complaints against discriminatory practices. Allpractices and rites that were harmful and derogatory, especially those pertaining to mourning and burial rites, must be outlawed.

Ms. PATTEN, expert from Mauritius, wanted to know the extent of women’s rights in the context of deciding on the spacing of her children.

Country Response

A delegate responded by stating that there were no definite responses to many of the queries raised by the experts, but asserted that there was no doubt about the Government’s commitment to work towards the fulfilment of the requirements of the law and the eventual achievement of the requirements of the Convention.

A delegate added that there was no clear answer regarding marital rape, since, often, such cases were hardly ever reported on account of stigmatisation.  On the Marriage Act, work was under way to reformulate all aspects of legislation that was out of line with the aim of shielding women against discrimination.

Regarding maternity leave, a delegate explained that women who gave birth were entitled to 84 days of maternity leave, plus 24 days of annual leave.  As for whether it was fair for a woman to be entitled to maternity leave only every three years, a delegate explained that that provision had been included at a time when there had been concern about the possibility of an anticipated boom in the population.  It was thought then that giving women a three-year maternity cycle would help check that eventuality.

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For information media • not an official record