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CCM ladies shun their fellow gender activists
2005-10-02 11:08:30
By Ludger Kasumuni
Ten years after the Beijing Conference, Tanzanian women are still divided along divergent political inclinations, lacking clear ideological orientation for cementing a strong unity with which to fight for their economic and political rights.
This elusive political situation transpiring in Tanzania has been tested during the recent training seminar organised by Tanzania Media Women Association (TAMWA), which had the main objective of building the political capacity of women contesting for Parliamentary seats in the constituencies.
The Beijing Conference, which took place in China’s capital, Beijing in March, 1995, had among other things, advocated for women unity to fight for a common course of building capacity to attain economic and political empowerment among them against the patriarchal system of social life.
The Beijing Conference is being reviewed by various international gender activists in a bid to know how the gender hitches can be surmounted for emancipating women from all forms of discrimination.
But this has never happened in Tanzania, as many women coming to power have succumbed to the mighty political machinations of male politicians dominating the political scene.
To the surprise of many people, who had anticipated a vibrant dialogue involving women contesting for parliamentary seats on the ticket of the ruling party CCM and 16 opposition parties, CCM’s women contestants decided to shun such a crucial TAMWA seminar for women politicians.
TAMWA had sent invitations to all political parties, each of which was supposed to send five participants.
However, CCM did not send a single one .
Speaking recently in Dar es Salaam, TAMWA Executive Director Ananilea Nkya, confirmed that although they had requested CCM and other political parties to send five delegates each, CCM did not send any delegate.
’’CCM has not sent participants to this meeting, probably because their women candidates for Parliamentary seats think that they do not need training on capacity building to contest the elections,’’ Nkya said.
She added: ’’The absence of CCM delegates at this seminar will not affect the set objectives.
We think that CCM women candidates are busy conducting election campaigns as they seem to think that there is no need for training in capacity building.’’
She however, said that they were yet to get a feedback from CCM’s Secretary General as to why the party had not sent any delegates.
She said other political parties had managed to send delegates to the training seminar, which was intended to build capacity of women contesting for Parliamentary seats in various constituencies.
A random survey by the Sunday Observer had shown that the political parties, which had sent participants, were NCCR-Mageuzi, CHADEMA, CUF, TLP, UPDP, CHAUSTA, DP, NLD, TADEA, UMD, Jahazi Asilia, SAU, Demokrasia Makini, FORD and NRA and TPP-Maendeleo.
Out of these political parties contesting in the elections, only TPP-Maendeleo has fielded a woman contestant, Anna Claudia Senkoro, who is unlikely to get majority support from women, as she has already complained over lack of enough campaigning funds.
Commenting on the non-participation of CCM in the seminar, a facilitator of the seminar, Charles Kayoka, said that it was a tendency of CCM to shun dialogue organised for political parties.
Kayoka said by absconding from most forums for political parties, CCM had been demonstrating arrogance. In fact, they need not only civic education, but also training.
He cited the recent two forums for political parties, including the one conducted in Iringa for panel discussions among Parliamentary candidates, whereby a CCM contestant Monica Mbega had absconded.
He also cited the political debate organised recently when Channel Ten had organised a forum for political parties’ presidential candidates. CCM did not attend.
Political analysts, however, argue that it is not an amazing event, because the attempt to unite Tanzanian women for political empowerment took place in vain in 1995 when the formative process of the Tanzania Women Council (BAWATA) was derailed by the State.
There was a clear internal struggle among women, especially the power mongers within the ruling clique as a group to fight for their personal interests rather than the interests of women in general.
Political scientists describe levels of interest existing in the political system as the interests at individual, family, social group or social class, organizational or political party, governmental and national levels.
According to political theory, people are supposed to rise above all interest to meet social and national interests.
In the case of women fighting for their economic and political interests, the women leaders must be in the forefront of rising above their individual and family interests.
But in practice, like in any other social struggles, women as a social group have failed to tame individualism based on corruption and abuse of power, while their declared aim is to dismantle the patriarchal system of leadership.
In other words, women as a social group crying for economic and political empowerment, have failed to get a committed women leadership that is able to rise above personal interests to reach the peak of all levels of interests, that is women interest.
Worldwide, there is a general consensus that the interests of women are of paramount importance, because women constitute the most productive social group in all countries.
They are the most important pillars of production in any social system.
Social researchers argue that disjointed women are like disjointed fingers in the hand, which weaken the muscular capacity of the human hand to exert the energy needed for work.
On her part, TAMWA Chairperson Echikaeli Maro, reminds women that there is a long way to go to attain the target set for gender balance in politics by the African Union (AU), which is to have 50 percent of parliamentary seats to be occupied by women.
Maro also says that, in this context, the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) has set a target of 30 percent, which the Tanzanian government is striving to achieve in the next parliament.
Tanzania has ratified a number of UN conventions, including conventions on elimination of all forms of discrimination against women, and protection of civil and political rights of all citizens.
Nevertheless, ratification of those conventions has been far from their actual enforcement and implementation due to several reasons, including lack of enforcement capacity and continuing poverty.
This time around, the Tanzanian government has apportioned 75 special seats for women in the House with the same goal of attaining a 30 percent women-composition in the legislative assembly.
But the question is, will these goals of attaining gender political balance be realized given the fragile situation of women organisations in the fight for gender equity?
Analysts argue that gender political balance can only be attained if gender advocacy and struggle rise above parochial, anarchistic, patriarchal and individual interests to serve the broad interests of women.
In this regard, the struggle for gender political balance needs collaborative efforts among men and women at all the levels of interest described above.
The link between international, regional and national efforts to attain gender balance through political empowerment of women must be strongly established.
The target set by the Millennium Development Goals in eradicating poverty and attaining gender equity by 2015, needs to be implemented at all levels, starting from the household to social organisations, the State and the international scene, gender activists say.
It is, however, important to note that charity begins at home. In this regard, women as a social group, need to reassess themselves on how to sustain the war against gender discrimination for political and economic empowerment by shunning individual orientation during the process of struggling.
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