Women made big strides but still have miles to go

It is that time of the year again when we reflect on where we have been and where we are going. The year 2014 saw some great stories being highlighted in the media such as the heroic act of Azama Mahmoud from Kigalye, a village on the shores of Lake Tanganyika who saved seven people from drowning. Girls also dominated the Form Four results. But there were also a lot of cases of gender-based violence reported. As the year comes to an end, Woman reflects on the female personalities and women issues that made headlines.

Form Four results

The year started off with some jubilation as girls dominated the Top Ten positions in the Form Four exams. The results were announced in February this year. The best three students were Robina Nicholous (Marian Girls, Coast Region), Magreth Kakoko (St Francis Girls, Mbeya) and Joyceline Marealle (CANOSSA, Dar es Salaam). Then it was Sarafina Mariki and Abby Sembuche (Marian Girls), Sunday Mrutu (Anne Maria, Dar es Salaam), Nelson Anthony (Kaizerege, Kagera), Janeth Urassa (Marian Girls) and Angel Ngulumbi (St Francis Girls). The general performance of candidates of the latest Form Four examinations improved by 15 per cent in 2013 compared to 2012.

Although boys with 53 per cent were ahead of the girls with 46 per cent in general results, girls by far outshone boys in the national top ranking of individuals, taking seven places in top ten of the best students.

Heroine

As narrated in his blog, Zitto Kabwe, Kigoma’s MP explains the story of Azama Mahmoud Bwinza, a 28-year-old single mother who saved seven people from drowning in Lake Tanganyika. It was on October 11, 2014 somewhere near Mtanga, Kigalye and Kalalangabo villages in Kigoma; it was a celebratory day at the offset. There was a wedding ceremony in Mwandiga village and the bride and groom with relatives and friends were travelling to their new home in Kigalye village, which entailed travelling first by cars and ‘bodaboda’ and then crossing the lake in a twin canoe. The people in this area cannot afford hiring a boat; for many years, in community solidarity, fishermen offer their ‘mitumbwi’ to be used as transport for social events. Worse, villages along Lake Tanganyika north have only one means of transport which is waterway as no road has been constructed so far.

At around 1 pm that Saturday, almost 50 people including the bride and groom got into the ‘mitumbwi’ from Kalalangabo ferry and started to sail northward to Kigalye. After they set sail the ‘mitumbwi’ turned upside down and what followed is now history.

Azama, a widow with one child, was among the passengers. She was the first to jump into the waters of this second deepest lake in the world and swam to shore. According to her story, she stood on the rocks at the shore to catch her breath and saw others trying to rescue themselves. She heard her younger sister calling out for help. Courage sank in and she dived into the water. Knowing that Kalalangabo area is one of the deepest parts of the lake, she set off on her rescue mission.

In her own words, Azama said that she was holding people by their backs and pulling them to the shore. “I made seven trips and as a result I rescued seven people including a pregnant woman and 3 children,” Azama narrated. The last person she tried to rescue died. She was holding on to Azama so firmly that Azama couldn’t swim and both were at the brink of drowning. ‘I had to bite her to leave me or relax. I was exhausted. I swam back to shore. The woman died,” she explained while crying as the dead was her sister-in-law. Ten people drowned in Lake Tanganyika following the capsizing of the twin canoe (mtumbwi wa kipe) with more than 50 people on board.

Divorce

In August, Deputy Chief Kadhi in Zanzibar, Sheikh Hassan Othamn Ngwali, gave a shocking revelation about the increase of divorce rate in the isles. It was said that more than 1,600 divorce were issued in Zanzibar between 2012 and 2013. A report released in 2013 by the Ministry of Social Welfare, Youth, Women and Children Development in Zanzibar shows that the overall divorce rate is 31.8 per cent among the respondents.

The report also found that among challenges that perpetuate divorce is that Islamic law on marriage is not codified and is left for the Kadhis to interpret as they deem fit. Moreover, the Kadhi court doesn’t have any legal powers to summon the accused or execute judgement. The accused might choose to ignore the court order altogether.

Gender-Based Violence

Reports show that violence against women is still rampant. There were many cases in the media that reflected this; from killing of elderly women for allegations of witchcraft, stripping women in the streets for wearing indecent clothes to FGM and child marriages. A report released by Human Rights Watch in October documented cases in which girls as young as seven were married off to elderly men. The 75-page report, “‘No Way Out’: Child Marriage and Human Rights Abuses in Tanzania,” documents how child marriage severely curtails girls’ access to education, and exposes them to exploitation and violence – including marital rape and female genital mutilation (FGM) – and reproductive health risks. Human Rights Watch examined the gaps in Tanzania’s child protection system, the lack of protection for victims of child marriage, and the obstacles girls face in attempting to obtain redress, as well as shortcomings in existing laws and government plans to combat child marriage.

Miss Tanzania

This year’s Miss Tanzania contest faced some storm. Miss Redd’s Tanzania 2014, Sitti Mtemvu finally announced to step down voluntarily hardly a month after winning the crown, following age cheating allegations.

The decision came just 29 days after she was crowned at the Mlimani City Hall on October 11, and following her decision, the title was given to first runner-up, Lilian Kamazima (18). This was the first time for the contest to attract such an embarrassing scandal.

Sports personality of the year

The national women’s soccer team striker, Sherida Boniface, made us proud as she emerged the overall winner at the 2014 Sports Personality of the Year during awards gala on December  The fast-rising player, who features for Evergreen women’s soccer club of Temeke, scooped two awards at the colourful event at the Diamond Jubilee Hall. Sherida was crowned Tanzania Sports Writers Association (Taswa) Sports Personality of the Year and the best young female footballer of the year at the gala graced by Zanzibar President Ali Mohamed Shein.

Lake Zone Boat Races

Mara Region men and women boat race teams have dominated the Lake Zone Balimi Boat Race finals held in Mwanza in early December. In the women’s category, Nyamisi Deo club of Mara won the top position and took home Sh2.3 million, followed by Ukerewe’s Mhate Mwocha who finished second and were awarded Sh1.7 million while Mwanza’s Taabu Daudi finished third and walked away with Sh900,000 and Ukerewe won the fourth position and took Sh700,000.

Literature

A poet, Sandra Mushi released her book ‘Stains on my Khanga’, a collection of short stories and poems. The stories seek to spark a conversation about issues that are often swept under the carpet. This is her second book. Her first books, “Rhythm of my rhyme” came out in 2008.

The khanga in the title represents a woman, while the stains on that khanga represent tainted emotions. A woman wearing a beautiful piece of clothing, walking with her head held high but inside her heart bleeds and her soul is stained.

Esther K. Mngodo also emerged the overall winner of Ebrahim Hussein Poetry Prize. The winning poems included ‘Msamaha’, ‘Penda Wewe’ and ‘Changudoa’. Rashid Abdu Rai (Zanzibar) took the second place while Sylvin Makila (Mbeya) took the third post