Importance of Global WomenIt is a poignant opportunity to consider Tanzania’s path towards sustainable development as we unite to celebrate International Women’s Day in 2024, embracing the compelling slogan “Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress.” This historic event highlights the core ideas of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially the goal of SDG 5 to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. The Global Compact on Refugees, which calls for the adoption and execution of laws and initiatives aimed at empowering women and girls in both host and refugee communities, is likewise heavily reliant on SDG 5.
As outlined in the present UN Cooperation Framework, this commitment is closely integrated with the ongoing efforts of the United Nations in Tanzania to promote inclusive economic growth, social development, and environmental sustainability.
In Tanzania, the UN has made gender equality a priority within its framework for cooperation, realizing how important it is to reaching the SDGs.
The UN’s efforts are essential for creating a society where women and men, girls and boys, have equal chances because they focus on critical areas like economic empowerment, education and skills, health, nutrition, protection from violence, and political engagement. The comprehensive development of the nation’s human capital and economic potential depends on this.
Tanzania’s commitment to SDG8, focusing on Decent Work and Economic Growth, is vital for women’s economic empowerment. Poverty and gender inequality go hand-in-hand. We can’t end one without tackling the other.
In line with Tanzania’s Generation Equality commitments, the United Nations, through its agencies, supports women’s access to financial services, markets, sustainable entrepreneurship, and employment opportunities. This support extends across borders, enhancing women’s participation in cross-border trade within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), bolstering economic empowerment and the continent’s economic diversification and growth. Through this initiative, Tanzanian products such as coffee, sisal fibers, and cloves have found markets in Algeria, Nigeria, and Morocco.
We fervently support national and sectoral plans and strategies that take gender considerations into account, as well as initiatives that provide women—including refugees and asylum seekers in accordance with the Global Compact for Refugees—with the skills and resources they need to participate in the economy and to foster inclusive economic growth in refugee-hosting areas.
These are essential actions that will help achieve SDGs 10 (inclusive economic growth) and 1 (eradicating poverty).
Child marriage is a result of poverty, which also keeps young women in abusive families or relationships, forces them to take on onerous household duties, and denies them the opportunity to receive an education.
We firmly think that girls’ education should continue past the primary level for their future. It enhances their economic standing and employment opportunities while also lowering the likelihood of gender-based violence, encouraging early marriage, and promoting their health. Unquestionably, women and girls have the same rights to high-quality education and lifetime learning as do men and boys.
The UN’s emphasis on high-quality education (SDG 4) in Tanzania shows a sincere desire to remove barriers that women and girls face in the classroom. We back initiatives aimed at removing social norms and behaviors that prevent girls, notably those living in refugee camps, from attending school and enhancing their educational chances. In today’s knowledge economy, empowering women and attaining gender equality depend on encouraging girls to pursue STEM and literacy education.
Actually, more than 70 groups have benefited from the Binti campaign to abolish child marriage in Tanzania, which has also attracted 150,000 pledges in favor of changing the Law of Marriage Act to raise the marriage age to 18.
We genuinely hope that the measure to raise the legal age of marriage to 18 for both boys and girls will be approved by Parliament because we appreciate the government’s dedication to changing the law and its proactive efforts in this regard.
The United Nations’ assistance in enhancing Tanzania’s maternal health services and reproductive health care is essential in order to achieve SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being). Investing in women’s health not only improves their quality of life but also contributes significantly to the advancement of human capital by elevating women’s status and encouraging their involvement in economic development.
Consistent with SDG 16, we wholeheartedly endorse women’s leadership and their involvement in decision-making, especially when it comes to initiatives to promote peace. The first National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security in Tanzania is commendable since it encourages women to actively engage in peace processes. Women’s participation in peacebuilding is not only necessary because of the special effects that war has on them, but also because of their ability to influence constructive social change and bring about long-lasting peace in their communities.
Women’s participation in decision-making improves community well-being and guarantees that inclusive policies take into account the requirements of a varied society. In an effort to empower women and girls, the UN plan promotes increasing the number of women in leadership positions. We are committed to working with partners and the Tanzanian government to advance these initiatives and investments for more inclusive governance.
We really think that having access to knowledge is essential to empowering women and girls.
Their ability to successfully address gender inequalities and express their rights depends on this access.
Regardless of the media, we have to make sure that communities—especially those of women and girls—have access to the knowledge they need to make educated decisions, take on neighborhood problems, and actively participate in public life.
This pledge is in complete harmony with Sustainable Development Goals 16 and 5, which emphasize the close relationship that exists between the pursuit of gender equality as a cornerstone of sustainable development and the accessibility of information.
“Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress,” the topic of International Women’s Day 2024, is a roadmap for Tanzania to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, not just a call to action.
We implore everyone to reaffirm their commitment to gender equality on this day, since it is a crucial foundation for a prosperous, diverse, and sustainable Tanzania.