Challenges facing millennium development goals.
Tanzania’s leadership is struggling to promote gender equality to meet the requirements of the Millennium Development Goals. Success of the MDG number 3 and target number 4 are all intended to be portrayed by four major indicators. The goal is to promote gender equality and empower women, while the target is to eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education by 2005 and in all levels of education not later than 2015.
The four indicators are: Ratio of girls to boys in primary, secondary and tertiary education to be equal as well as ratio of literate females to males among 15 – 24 years. Two other indicators are:- share of women in wage employment in the non agricultural sector, to be the same as that of men and proportion of seats held by women in the national parliament to be 50%.
Gender equality can simply be preached and lived; enrolment of children in pre and primary schools has always been done without discrimination among children of both sexes in our country. Nevertheless, the ratio has never been as required.
In 2007, the number of boys enrolled was 4,215,171 while that of girls was 4,101,754. Moreover pregnancy further lowered the number of girls by raising the number of girls’ school drop-out. The men responsible with the pregnancies have been going unpunished, even though the law states that 30 years’ imprisonment is what they deserve for so doing.
What happens is that, a parent who happens to sue a man for impregnating his/her daughter is required to go to court. Going to court takes time, and sometimes bus fare where the court is some distance away. The magistrate may postpone the case three our four times, leaving the parent tired and broke. Without bus fare, the parent will not be able to report again to the court.
Without complainant, the magistrate will not be able to go on with the case. So the accused walks away to ply his trade. Postponement of such cases may be intentional, although some magistrates may give excuses which cannot be denied as genuine.
In some communities, girls are given into marriage at a young age, sometimes as young as 12 or 13 years. Although the law says that any person under 13 years is a child and children are not given into marriage, the same law says that a girl of 14 can be given into marriage at the consent of the parents.
Even if this law is amended, to prohibit such girls of tender age to be given into marriage, yet some culprits will break that law and the principle will again protect such law-breakers; cases will be postponed till complainants lose hope and decide to work in their fields instead of wasting time by going to court where justice is not expected to be dispensed. Again none will be convicted.
The number three indicator which is equal share of women in wage employment in the non agricultural sector cannot be implemented without adequate education being considered. It will not be proper to pick a woman from the streets and employ her in an office, just to balance the number of women against that of men in offices.
The same applies to indicator number four. The proportion of seats held by women in the national parliament will depend on the academic qualifications of the women. When women candidates cannot compete with men academically, voters may vote for them at their peril. Even the president may nominate some of the kind, but such members of parliament will be a burden to the house.
These are only challenges rooted from education. There are more when we consider other aspects. For example, when empowering of women is being considered, land ownership should not be excluded. However, land is acquired through inheritance or acquisition, which is by paying money to buy it. Inheritance can be given by parents to their children. Parents themselves give away their possessions to children according to certain criteria. In some societies, a girl who marries becomes part of the husband’s family. Some parents do not consider such daughters in their wills.
In case they die, what they will inherit will be the deceased mothers’ clothes and maybe jewelry (unfortunately very few women in our culture have jewelry) but not land. Some fathers bequest their possessions to children after weighing what such children are worth. A daughter who had had no income, who had not brought even a half kilogramme of sugar to her father is not likely to get something valuable from such a father, who is the sole owner of land in the family.
As in the case of acquisition, one has to pay money to buy land. A woman who had had no learning, no employment will not be able to buy land. Moreover, money lenders need security for their money. Without security, an ordinary woman is not likely to get a loan from our banks. Some money-lenders who have more lax rules are those who take loans from our banks and lend it in small amounts to their customers, especially “mama-lishes”, who cannot make any development because the rates of interest are high. The lenders have to charge much to pay back their creditors and leave some to pay for their own survival.
In order to meet the MDGs requirements, education obstacles to girls must be dealt with accordingly. The law intended to safeguard children (Education law 25/1978) must be in operation. The Swahili language newspaper, Uhuru of November 20, 2006 reported that 47 girls failed to complete standard seven in Kilombero district because they got pregnant and some of the men responsible with the malady had been dealt with, but others were living with the girls as their wives.
This was an Area Commissioner’s report to his senior, the Regional commissioner. One wonders why these others were given a green light, to live with the pregnant pupils, while the law states plainly that they should be punished.
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Changamoto zinazokabili malengo ya maendeleo ya milenia. Uongozi wa Tanzania ni wanajitahidi kukuza usawa wa kijinsia ili kukidhi mahitaji ya Malengo ya Maendeleo ya Milenia. Mafanikio ya MDG namba 3 na namba 4 lengo wote ni nia ya kuwa Imechezwa na viashiria kuu nne. Lengo ni kukuza usawa wa kijinsia na kuwawezesha wanawake, wakati lengo ni kuondokana na jinsia tofauti katika elimu ya msingi na sekondari ifikapo mwaka 2005 na katika ngazi zote za elimu si baadaye kuliko 2015.
viashiria nne ni: uwiano wa wasichana na wavulana katika elimu ya msingi, sekondari na vyuo kuwa sawa kama vile uwiano wa wanawake wanaojua kusoma na wanaume miongoni mwa 15 - 24 miaka. Mbili viashiria nyingine ni: - Mchango wa wanawake katika kazi za mshahara katika sekta isiyo ya kilimo, ili kuwa sawa kama ile ya wanaume na uwiano wa viti uliofanyika kwa wanawake katika bunge la taifa kuwa 50%.
Usawa wa jinsia unaweza tu itahubiriwa na aliishi; uandikishaji wa watoto katika shule za awali na msingi daima imekuwa kufanyika bila ubaguzi kati ya watoto wa jinsia zote katika nchi yetu. Hata hivyo, uwiano haijawahi kama inavyotakiwa.
Katika 2007, idadi ya wavulana waliojiunga ilikuwa 4,215,171 wakati ule wa wasichana ilikuwa 4,101,754. Aidha mimba zaidi dari idadi ya wasichana kwa kuongeza idadi ya shule ya wasichana kuacha nje. wanaume kuwajibika na mimba wamekuwa kwenda bila adhabu, ingawa Sheria inasema kuwa kifungo cha miaka 30 'ni nini wanastahili kwa kufanya hivyo.
Kinachotokea ni kwamba, mzazi ambao hutokea kwa kumshitaki mtu kwa kuwatia mimba yake / binti yake anatakiwa kwenda mahakamani. Kwenda mahakamani inachukua muda, na wakati mwingine nauli ambapo mahakama ni baadhi mbali mbali. huenda hakimu kuahirisha kesi tatu wetu mara nne, na kuacha mzazi amechoka na kukatika. Bila nauli, mzazi hawataweza kuripoti tena mahakamani.
Bila mlalamikaji, hakimu hawataweza kuendelea na kesi. Hivyo mshitakiwa anatembea mbali na biashara ply wake. Kuahirishwa kwa kesi hiyo inaweza kuwa ya kukusudia, ingawa baadhi ya mahakimu inaweza kutoa visingizio ambayo haiwezi kukanushwa kama kweli.
Katika baadhi ya jamii, wasichana wanapewa ndani ya ndoa katika umri mdogo, wakati mwingine kama vijana kama miaka 12 au 13. Ingawa sheria inasema kwamba mtu yeyote chini ya miaka 13 ni mtoto na watoto hawapewi ndani ya ndoa, sheria hiyo inasema kwamba msichana wa 14 unaweza kutolewa ndani ya ndoa katika ridhaa ya wazazi.
Hata kama sheria hii ni marekebisho, ili kuzuia wasichana vile umri wa zabuni kutolewa ndani ya ndoa, bado baadhi ya wakosaji nitaivunja kuwa sheria na kanuni tena kulinda vile sheria ya Jumaamosi-; kesi iahirishwe mpaka walalamikaji kupoteza matumaini na kuamua kufanya kazi katika mashamba yao badala ya kupoteza muda kwa kwenda mahakamani ambapo haki si inatarajiwa kuwa iligawanywa. Tena hakuna itakuwa hatia.
kiashiria namba tatu ambayo ni sawa sehemu ya wanawake katika mshahara wa ajira katika sekta isiyo ya kilimo hauwezi kutekelezwa bila elimu ya kutosha kuwa kuzingatiwa. Itakuwa si sahihi kuchukua mwanamke kutoka mitaani na kuajiri yake katika ofisi, tu kusawazisha idadi ya wanawake dhidi ya wanaume kwamba katika ofisi.
hiyo inatumika kwa kiashiria namba nne. uwiano wa viti uliofanyika kwa wanawake katika bunge la taifa utategemea sifa za kitaaluma ya wanawake. Wakati wagombea wanawake hawawezi kushindana na wanaume kimasomo, wapiga kura wanaweza kupiga kura kwa ajili yao kwa hatari yao. Hata rais anaweza kuteua baadhi ya aina, lakini vile wabunge watakuwa mzigo kwa nyumba.
Hizi ni changamoto tu mizizi kutoka elimu. Kuna zaidi wakati sisi kufikiria mambo mengine. Kwa mfano, wakati wa kuwawezesha wanawake unafikiriwa, umiliki wa ardhi haipaswi kutengwa. Hata hivyo, ardhi ni unaopatikana kwa njia ya urithi au kununua, ambayo ni kwa kulipa fedha kwa kununua. Urithi unaweza kutolewa na wazazi kwa watoto wao. Wazazi wenyewe kutoa mbali mali yao na watoto kulingana na vigezo fulani. Katika baadhi ya jamii, msichana anayeoa anakuwa sehemu ya familia ya mume. Baadhi ya wazazi wala kufikiria binti vile katika utashi.
Katika kesi ya kufa, kwa kile atarithi itakuwa mama marehemu 'nguo na labda kujitia (kwa bahati mbaya sana na wanawake wachache katika utamaduni wetu na kujitia) lakini si nchi. Baadhi ya wasia baba mali zao na watoto baada ya uzito gani watoto vile ni thamani. binti ambaye alikuwa alikuwa hakuna mapato, ambao hakuwaleta hata kilo nusu ya sukari kwa baba yake si uwezekano wa kupata kitu thamani kutoka kwa baba, vile ambaye ni mmiliki pekee wa ardhi katika familia.
Kama katika kesi ya kununua, moja ina kulipa fedha kwa kununua ardhi. mwanamke ambaye alikuwa hana elimu, ajira hakuna wala kuwa na uwezo wa kununua ardhi. Aidha, fedha wakopeshaji haja usalama kwa fedha zao. Bila usalama, mwanamke wa kawaida si uwezekano wa kupata mkopo kutoka benki yetu. Baadhi ya fedha-wakopeshaji ambao wana sheria zaidi lax ni wale ambao kuchukua mikopo kutoka benki zetu na kukopesha ni...
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