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Implementing gender balance to eliminate social injustices
2007-09-03 08:45:31
By Michael Haonga
When a university not only admits prevalence of gender imbalance at its campus, but also hammers out down to earth measures against such a situation, it is both a welcome measure in ending social injustice in its various forms.
Ending social injustice is not only a wished thinking but is based even in the Tanzania`s over all goal socially, politically, institutionally, technologically and environmentally as spelt out in the country`s 2025 Development Vision.
According to the Composite Development Goal for the Tanzania Development Vision 2025 economic development must embody social justice and a sense of individual and collective responsibility to society.
The Vision portrays further that female enrolment in secondary education is much lower than in primary education, as partly illustrated that in 1997 for instance, female enrolment accounted for 44.5 percent of total Form 1-4 enrolment but only 30 percent of Form 5-6enrolment.
`This gender imbalance in education gets worse at the tertiary and higher levels of education and training ,` reveals the Vision on the aspect of Education in the country.
In the light of this, it is not a matter of coincidence but a reality that, the OUT hammering out of a 2006/2007 -2010/2011 OUT Rolling Strategic Plan (RSP) through its Strategic Objective No. 9 does not only augur well with the national drive to end injustice pertuated by gender imbalance but a vivid portrayal of a smart partnership calling for emulation in all walks and avenues of life.
Strategic objective No. 9 outlines major highlights on gender balance and mainstreaming amongst staff and students .
Testimonies to this are a number of comments made in the aftermath of Professor Mbwette`s disclosure of the OUT RSP gender balance programme plan in education at the University that stretches to the year 2010/2011 with a view to ending abominable imbalamce.
In his disclosure of the plan, Professor Mbwette has honestly admitted categorically that gender imbalance is notably prevalent amongst Staff and Students of the OUT and `Likewise the female: male recruitment ratio is still very low amongst the academic staff,` specified Professor Mbwette.
He says in no uncertain terms that the prevailing situation calls for timely and systematic interventions to enhance the gender balance as a matter of rationality and compartibility with human rights and social justice issues.
Furthermore Professor Mbwette cites other related problems requiring urgent attention as including the absence of a comprehensive gender awareness programme for staff and students and lack of a comprehensive institutional gender dimension policy and action plan.
Others cited include lack of a comprehensive action plan for promoting gender balance and mainstreaming gender in the OUT curricula, research and administrative duties as well as in its policies and the absence of a sexual harassment policy at OUT.
As a result he says `The Open University of Tanzania has given strong emphasis on Gender issues in all activities at the OUT` a remark that also augurs well with even what has been underlined in some international circles including the European Union (EU)'s relations with Africa.
Just like Tanzania and OUT declared stance against gender imbalance, the EU in the spirit of development partnership with Africa, has also made its stand clear that gender imbalance and HIV/AIDS are being given commensurate weight in its development priorities.
The elaboration to that end was made recently by the German Ambassador to Tanzania, His Excellency Wolfgang Ringe in an interview with the press in the country to the effect that;
`Germany during her EU Presidencey will be making every effort to further the sustained implementation of gender equality in the European Development cooperation and also continue to resolutely support the fight against HIV/AIDS.`
Already Tanzania has received 68.95bn/= (EURO 43.5million) for the country to reform its education sector programme, a move that augurs well with the OUT drive because of the timeliness in the drive towards fighting gender imbalance in education both in the bottom up and up down form.
In the same vein, the Government has been availing training on gender focal persons from various ministries including preparing framworks for mainstreaming gender issues in various socio-economic and education policies.
Also the Minister for Planning, Economy and Empowerment, Dr Juma Ngasongwa in his 2007/08- 2009/10 Economic Survey presented in the just ended Parliament Budget session underlines government`s efforts to address the issue of gender imbalance in various socio-economic sectors.
He says apart from providing training to gender vocal persons from various ministries, frameworks for mainstreaming gender issues into various socio-economic policies, `...some 2000 copies of the National Plan to Prevent Violence against women were distributed to various stakeholders` last year.
He underlines that of the 14 areas requiring sustained efforts by the Government and its stakeholders for accelerated economic growth include `Mainstreaming gender issues in policies and plans` accompanied by enabling environment for implementation of the plans.
He discloses some of the countries development partners in the areas to include twelve countries namely `Switzerland, The Netherlands, Germany, France, UK, Spain, China, South Africa, Kuwait, Italy, Ireland and other countries.`
Some of the organizations disclosed in the partnership include the World Bank, IMF, United Nations Organizations, the European Union, OPEC Fund, NORAD, USAID, SIDA, DANNIDA ,CIDA, DANIDA ,ADB, and JICA.
...Chipping in on the Professor`s and the OUT both short and long term plan, a number of academic and members of the public have paid glowing tribute for institutions of learning setting pace in the drive to end gender imbalance in their vicinities.
`What a welcome a plan it is that institutions of higher learning have reached a point of discarding gender imbalance in a sytematic and long term basis. All I can say at this juncture is to congratulate OUT for the bold move to come in the open and declare its plan.`remarked Selina Wilson an employee in a private company.
She said even though a female may be well educated like her male counterparts in an interview for a job, she may not be picked just because she is not a male.
This concern for her is also cemented by the observation by the OUT Vice Chancellor, Professor Tolly Mbwette in his speech when opening a `Gender Awareness Seminar` among top management members at the University.
He told seminar participants that the resolve to that end aimed at implementing what is even underlined in the plan with a view to improving gender balance and mainstreaming in the University's community members.
On his part he said `... let me reassure you that I am a firm believer in gender and I wish to confess to you that my conviction in the gender course goes some time back...`
He pointed out that `... two distinguished women gender activists had at one time or another been comrades in arms in gender matters at UDSM and these are none another than Prof. Penina Mlama and the late Prof. Ruth Besha during the UDSM ITP (UDSM - 2000).
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