1. Women Making A Difference In Tanzania’s Politics

3� COMPARISON OF STATISTICS IN NATIONAL GOVERNMENT

Table 2 highlights statistics of women representation in the National Governments of Rwanda, South Africa, Namibia and Senegal, compared to those of Tanzania and Kenya, according to IPU’s latest data (January 2021).

Table 2: Comparison of statistics in national governments (Rwanda, South Africa, Namibia, Senegal, Tanzania, and Kenya

RWANDA SOUTH AFRICA NAMIBIA SENEGAL TANZANIA KENYA

RANK 1 12 15 17 34 105

SEATS 80 397 104 165 384 347

WOMEN 49 182 46 71 141 75

PERCENT 61�3% 45�8% 44�2% 43% 36�7% 21�6%

SENATE

SEATS 26 53 42

WOMEN 10 22 6

PERCENT 38�5% 41�5% 14�3%

Source: Inter-parliamentary Union ranking on women in national parliaments 2021 www.data.ipu.org

66

21

31�8%

3�1 Rwanda

Rwanda ranked first in January 2021 on the IPU’s monthly ranking of women in the national parliament, with 49 women out of 80 in the Lower House and 10 women out of 26 in the Upper Chamber. A 2018 dissertation on female representation and development in Rwanda argues that among the factors that have contributed to the development in Rwanda is the current and steady increase of the number of women in parliament [2]. In fact, its findings highlight that there exists a relation between female representation in politics and development in Rwanda. The high representation of women in the Rwandan parliament can be attributed to the actions post-genocide in 1994, where women were approximately 70 per cent of the nation’s population left behind. Rwanda has taken various measures in promoting WPP, including:

i. Ensuring active participation of women in constitution drafting: 40 multi-ethnic nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) brought together civil society leaders, the Ministry of Gender and the Promotion of Women (MIGEPROFE), and the Forum of Rwandan Women Parliamentarians (FFRP) to advocate for gender reforms in the constitution. This involvement led to pronouncements in the Constitution that 30 per cent of all posts in decisionmaking organs be reserved for women. Of the 80 seats in the legislature's lower house, 24 are set aside for women. The constitutional directive also has been used to seek 30 per cent women’s representation in the judiciary, the executive branch, and on political party lists;

ii. Partnership with allies has facilitated lobbying for the constitutional quota of 30 per cent women’s representation, which is reflected throughout the government and by political parties;

iii. Government support has ensured that women have been on the political ballot papers and in leadership. For instance, President Kagame’s party, the Rwandan Patriotic Front, has been critical for women’s recent advances. President Kagame said this of his administration, “We fully recognize the critical roles women must play in our society.” [3]. Female leaders are also able to leverage their standing as members of the RPF to advocate for women’s inclusion; and

iv. Capacity building for women leaders has been implemented alongside addressing societal issues such as discrimination and poverty, lack of education and limited skills building, which are common obstacles to greater women’s involvement.

3�2 South Africa

South Africa is considered a more developed African country due to the advanced nature of its national structure, a structuring dated back to post-apartheid in 1994. Holding 12th place in IPU’s monthly ranking, South Africa takes pride in having 182 women out of 397 in the Lower House and 22 women out of 53 in the Senate. The country prominently features countries advancing in WPP in Africa, with 46 per cent of women in the House of Assembly and 50 per cent of women in the cabinet following the 2019 elections. Women representation in parliament increased from 40 per cent in 2014 to 46 per cent in 2019. Interestingly, the country does not have any legislation promoting gender parity, but the ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), has been the only party with gender quotas to ensure the representation of women in politics and decision-making since 1994. The system is founded on guidelines of nominations of public representatives. Women have actively participated in ANC and formed the Bantu Women’s league. The engagement by women led to them being permitted to become full members of ANC. In 1948, the ANC women’s League was formally launched, and it has carried a vision to unite women in South Africa across the colour barrier.

Similar to Rwanda, women in South Africa have come together in solidarity through political organizations, trade union movements and other CSOs. For instance, the Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW) formed in 1954 is a key factor in achieving WPP. The general aim is to affirm their authoritative rights, freedoms and powers despite patriarchal ideologies, let alone racism. This kind of female political engagement in South Africa contributed to drafting a protective multiracial non-sexist Constitution post-apartheid in 1996. Gender equality and the emancipation of women found expression in ANC policy pronouncements. Women came together and formed the Women’s National Coalition (WNC), bringing together over 100 women organizations and groups to strengthen the position of women to address structural gender oppression and demand for affirmative action. ANC women league emerged as a strong force that ANC Affirmative Action Plan adopted.

���Government support has ensured that women have been on the political ballot papers and in leadership���