Women’s rights are human rights.

This week I’ve been learning about Land Rights in Tanzania in preparation to teach the students about it – googling-up and reading, copying and pasting, printing and laminating! – and luckily stumbled upon the work of the Pastoral Women’s Council of Tanzania. I discovered one of the women I hike with on a Sunday morning is a program manager with the group so I’ve asked if she can come and talk to the students.

I wrote a few weeks ago about my journey into Maasai Land. This week I have found out more about the difficult situation Maasai women can find themselves in.

This is a story from the PWC website -

"My husband died when I was very young, I didn’t know anything, I didn’t know my rights. My husband’s relatives took our 100 cows. The clan fought for me but I was only given back seven. I had to return to my parents’ home. I suffered but now I see widowed woman are not suffering in the same way, they go to PWC and find out what their rights are. 

Relatives tried to marry off my daughter when she was 11 but I resisted. I went to PWC and my MP and the relatives stopped, they were scared they’d be put in prison for trying to marry a girl under 18. My daughter now has a qualification in animal husbandry.  Education is a priority for me as I can see that girls who go to school understand their rights and people treat them differently. They have freedom to decide who to marry and what to do. PWC has sponsored another of my daughters. They're the only organisation in this district that's serious about girls’ education.”

There are many similar stories – about abuse and empowerment, about rights and how difficult is to get and keep what is rightfully yours as a Maasai woman. Tanzania’s legal system isn’t always helpful as Tanzania’s adopted British common law - Women’s rights to own and inherit property are protected in the Land Law and Village Land Act - is contradictory to customary law - Women cannot inherit if the deceased left male relatives of his clan – and customary law usually wins out as women do not have the resources to fight it in the court system.

Proponents of Women’s Land Rights are hopeful that the new constitution – still in draft form though due to be voted on next April – will clear up the confusion and give women the rights they deserve.

I’ve also been looking at economic empowerment of women with microfinance groups.  Another story from the PWC website –

“In 2011 I was glad to attend training on bead making facilitated by PWC. The knowledge and skills I gained has enabled me to make beads and take them to the cultural boma. I have also been training other women who did not attend the training. The loan I got from the SACCOS (Savings and Credit Cooperative Society) has enabled me purchase more beads.

Before I joined the SACCOS I could only feed my family one meal a day and that was not assured. Now I am assured to feed my family two meals a day. I wish one day to be able to feed them three meals. We need more trainings and we promise PWC that we will help more women to be self reliant. I also request PWC to facilitate other trainings to diversify our businesses also to train us in ways on emergency savings to help us in drought periods like now.”

I hope these stories will give our girls the confidence to strive for what they want to achieve and not let the patriarchal Maasai tradition stand in their way. I can’t teach them to overturn their cultural heritage but I can show them stories where they will learn the truth for themselves!

ps Don't google PWC Tanzania - you'll get PriceWaterhouseCooper - and family, expect beads for Christmas!