PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan has urged public and private institutions to increase efforts to ensure that more women have an opportunity to be in various decision making bodies.

She was gracing an opening ceremony for the launch of the Tanzania Women in Financial Sector Association (TAWiFA) at Kizimkazi Township in Unguja South Region, organised by TAWiFA in collaboration with the Tanzania Insurance Regulatory Authority (TIRA) and the Mwanamke Initiatives Foundation (MIF).

The one-day event brought on board participants from both sides of the union, where apart from the launch of the association, the event gave a platform to extensively discuss how to overcome the challenges they face.

Participants sought to chart ways and build the capacity of women in financial matters. While chronicles differ on the president’s birth place, as either Makunduchi or Kizimkazi, one such chronicler online says Samia was born in Kizimkazi, a historic fishing village on the southern coast of Unguja.

In her speech, the president said that women participation in decision making bodies was inclusive and sustainable so it should be taken as among beneficial roles, not restricted to the government alone or taken up as a militant issue.

The key intention is to ensure that issues concerning women are explained by women as some decision makers may not have a wide enough understanding of the issues, thus leaving them aside.

Apart from increasing women participation in decision making levels, there is a need to invest heavily in lifting women economically, she said, similarly urging women to prepare to work hard in pursuing their goals.

While Tanzania is an example of the implementation of the United Nations resolution on the participation of women in various levels of decision-making, more efforts are needed to bring more women into these bodies, she stated.

Through the well-attended event, women in the financial sector put to use this opportunity to share experiences on how to better utilise financial opportunities to grow business activities.

The launch of the association was an extension of events to mark this year’s International Women’s Day, evaluating and sharing methods that enable women to move forward and overcome poverty, officials noted.

The event also sought to come up with plans to support women in endeavours to access leadership positions in various institutions, they added.