By Abela Msikula
SEPTEMBER is mentioned as an exciting month for women and all gender advocates, as people celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
The Anniversary reminds of the unfinished business of the Beijing Platform for Action, looking at the 12 critical areas that 189 governments committed to focus their attention to address gender inequality, said UN Women Representative Ms Hodan Addou in her welcome remarks during a roundtable dialogue last week in Dar es Salaam.
Titled: "Keeping the Momentum of the Generation Equality Campaign" and themed: "Strengthening Young Women's Leadership and Participation in Decision Making", the dialogue was aimed at solidification young women's leadership and involvement in decision making for an equal future.
"We are also reminded of the need to consolidate partnerships that will effectively advocate for gender equality and the empowerment of women for sustainable development," she said in the dialogue that was jointly hosted by the UN Women, Msichana Initiative, Civil Society Advisory Group for UN Women, the Embassy of France, African Women Leaders' Network (AWLN) and Bright Jamii Initiative.
Through the UN Women Global Campaign - the Generation Equality: Realizing Women's Rights for an Equal Future; there is the golden opportunity to revitalize collective efforts through an intergenerational approach; using various mechanisms including platforms such as the dialogues, which allow to share strategies and ideas on how people can take the agenda for gender equality forward.
UN Resident Coordinator, Mr Zlatan Milisic commented that there is still a long way to go as the world over historic imbalances in power relations between women and men, exacerbated by growing inequalities within and between societies and countries, are leading to greater discrimination against women and girls.
Around the world, tradition, cultural values and religion are being misused to curtail women's rights, to entrench sexism and defend misogynistic practices.
As a result, young women remain left out of many decisionmaking processes that they should be included in so they can influence decisions that affect them and will impact on future generations. All people have a part to play to contribute to turning the tide to create a gender-equal future.
Through powerful instruments such at the National Plan of Action to End Violence Against Women and Children in Tanzania, there is an opportunity to revitalize the programmes and innovations, working with young champions for gender equality, for a transformative change of mindset and behaviours, and effectively address gender-based violence and gender discrimination.
The removal of barriers to gender equality can ensure that girls remain in school until their graduation at tertiary institutions, and also promote women to reach their full potential, hence increasing their representation in leadership positions.
"Tanzania's commitment to gender equality creates opportunities for us to promote narratives that advocate for equal participation of women and girls, including those with disabilities, in all spheres of decision-making," he said, adding that: "As male champions, we need to invest our time in educating other men and boys on the importance of gender equality, and also contribute to strengthening partnerships with various actors to confront all barriers standing against women's participation in leadership across all sectors."
The Ambassador of Sweden to Tanzania, Mr Anders Sjöberg, said that the equal right to education is fundamental to achieve gender equality and the fee free education here in Tanzania is an important step forward in the right direction.
At the global level, compared to 1995, around 130 million more girls are in school today. 25 years ago, only 15 per cent of all young women participated in tertiary education. Today that figure is over 40 per cent. Early pregnancy rates, both a cause and a consequence of low educational participation, have declined by one-third over the last 15 years.
All these women and girls are now contributing to development. Still it is important to keep in mind that these numbers represent global averages, and that there are tremendous variations between countries.
"But they give an indication that we are heading in the right direction. The poorest girls are most likely to be out of school, and they make up a larger share of those who will never enter a classroom or graduate from basic education. Large disparities remain between rural/urban areas. Discrimination based on gender continues to be widespread. And we do not see development where it is most needed," he said.
EAC Youth Ambassador Mr Kamala Dickson presented that in East Africa and the Southern African Development Community, a lot has been made to make sure that young women have equal opportunities to participate in decision making bodies, Institutions around EAC such as EAC Legislative Assembly, East Africa Court of Justice, EAC Secretariat and other organs.
Strengthening Young Women's Leadership and Participation in Decision Making is a call to every decision maker, Development partner's, Civil society and community to make sure that bridging the gap in decision making bodies to provide more chances for women to participate and engage in leadership.
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