Ending violence against women and children

Clad in a black and white Kitende, Emmy Kiula’s face looks confident while standing on a podium addressing dozens of guests including ministers, permanent secretaries and ambassadors.

Emmy was standing before stakeholders and those concerned with the rising violence against women and children.

It never occurred to her that she would one day be able to make her own decisions without her husband’s interference and use her life experience to encourage other women who are going through the same situation.

Being married for 32 years, Emmy lived with a controlling and jealous husband who never wanted her to do anything. The mother of 5 children and grandmother to six grandchildren vividly recalls the ordeal.

“My husband was very controlling; he never wanted me to do anything or go anywhere or much less have anything of my own. He married me after I completed my secondary education so even when I was selected to go to college, he refused, stating that there was no need for me to go to college since he could provide for everything that I wanted,” Emmy speaks, adding; “I had everything I wanted except for my freedom, I wasn’t allowed to interact with people; that included socialising at events such as weddings and even going to funerals.”

Breaking free

After years of psychological torture, in 1999 Emmy decided that she needed to break free from the kind of life she had and realised a dire need to start being active within her community.

She embarked on an opportunity to participate at a seminar organised by Tanzania Media Women Associations (TAMWA) initiating women to take chances in leadership positions.

“Despite the fact that I was living with a very controlling husband, it reached a point where I knew the torture had to come to an end.

I wanted to be able to do something without having my husband harassing me with his unpleasant attitude. I remember how he stopped me from attending seminars that empowered women. He would only give me permission to attend after ensuring that I was being spied on by some of his friends,” Emmy recalls.

With undeterred determination, Emmy became a councillor in Morogoro Municipality between 2005 to 2010, despite initial jitters that her husband would cause trouble. “With the controlling character that my husband exuded, my worries were that he would one day embarrass me and inflict irreparable damage at my workplace,” she speaks.

Emmy was however lucky because her husband refrained from causing any distress, owing to the fact that she was doing a great job at her new employment.

Today, Emmy owns a food processing business and supports her family and husband, who is currently ill. Even with all the adversities that Emmy was subjected to, she stayed firm in her marriage until she managed to overcome all the challenges that had persisted.

Emmy’s case is one among many that highlight the torture that women are subjected to in their personal relationships with their partners. Most of them, however, suffer in silence.

Violence against women and children has existed for many years in the country and it is manifested in many different forms. To a large extent, it has affected the welfare its victims. Women are branded as an inferior sex that should condone male dominance while children are compelled to fear the wrath of their elders.

Statistics from the police show that by 2015, there were 22,876 reported cases of violence against women and children since the inception of the gender desk in 2012.Whereas reported cases of rape have accumulated to 3,444, while 14,561 cases of attack and insult have been recorded.

The 2010 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey (TDHS) also shows that more than one-third of all women, that is 39 per cent in Tanzania, have suffered from physical violence at some point since the age of 15 and 33 per cent of women have suffered from acts of violence during the past 12 months.

Taking action

Understand the effects of violence against women and children and how such violations pose serious consequences to reduction of poverty and achievement of the sustainable development goals, government and other stakeholders have been taking initiatives to ensure that they create an environment free from all forms of violence.

This has led to the recent launch of the National Plan of Action to End Violence Against women and children (NAP-VAWC), a plan seeking to guarantee that women and children enjoy their rights to live free from various forms of violence facing them. Tanzania is one among four counties in the world with such a National plan.

Minister of Health, Ummy Mwalimu, said women and children for many years have been the victims of violence which has affected their development and that of their children. “We have witnessed how women and children have been largely affected within our community.

Some girls miss school because they fell pregnant and are forced to cut their dreams short because they cannot go back to school once they become mothers,” she continues, “this subjects them to more violence. But this plan has come at a right time as it will give us one voice to stop any form of violence against women and children.”

She further stated that the plan will push forth efforts to educate and empower women in understanding the effects of violence, right of the victims and actions to be taken to safeguard their rights and ensure that until 2022, violence against women should be 50 per cent less.

Tanzania’s National Plan set an agenda to ensure that women are empowered in all aspects of life including; economical aspect, political, and cultural.

If such violence against women and children is not put to an end, then the National Plan will not be realized. So violence might begin at home, but it has far reaching repercussions to the whole country at large.

Government’s initiative

The government, in collaboration with other stakeholders prepared the five years National Development plan (2016/17-2020/2021) to ensure that all the obstacles that will hinder women and girls from participating in development initiatives are overcome.

Martha Sawe,45, a Kisarawe resident applauded the National plan saying if efforts are invested towards effectively implementing the plan then women and children will be saved from all forms violence.

“I am a mother who has experienced violence and I know how it feels. My husband used to beat me a lot to the point that I had a miscarriage following ruthless beating, it was our third child. That incident was a wakeup call for me, I knew I needed to do something about it after I kept quiet for a long time,” explains Martha, a mother of two.

She says her husband was a jealous type and an alcoholic who used to beat her when he was drunk, “Through our ten years of marriage, before we separated, I only enjoyed three years of our lives together but the rest were hell. Like many women, I chose to stay with him because of our children; I didn’t want my children to live with a single parent because I believed it wasn’t right for them to experience such fate.

After the horrible experience of losing a child following a brutal beating, I knew I needed to save myself and my children,” she recalls

The Minister of Constitutional Affairs and Justice Harrison Mwakyembe said his ministry is working hand in hand with the government and other stake holders to ensure that women get all the legal support they need when their rights are being violated.

“We understand how important this National plan is, that’s why we have been working closely with stakeholders to ensure the laws which violate the rights particular to women and children are revised. For instance, the Child Act of 2009, advocates of women and children’s rights have identified some problems within the act.

We’ve highlighted such contradictions and acknowledge the need for revision. Also, the 1979 Marriage Act has been flagged with concerns and there will be reforms to ensure that the law adheres to the rule of justice and equal rights to all.

Adverse effect on children

Different studies show that children who have witnessed or been subjected to violence are more likely to become victims or abusers themselves. This means that the National Plan that looks to address challenges faced by women and children should try as much as possible to curtail the imminent danger of having a society filled with abusers. We need to safeguard the rights of our children.

They need to grow up in an environment free from all sorts of violence. By working together to ensure that the National Plan to stop violence against women and children is effectively implemented, we will be one step closer to salvaging equal rights for all.

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