Dar es Salaam:  Despite the fact that women form the bulk of the population and majority of voters, their interests have not been well represented over the years.  The invisibility of women in politics is a worldwide historical Phenomenon and Tanzania is no exception. Over the years elections in Tanzania have resulted into the underrepresentation of women in parliament (currently 36 percent compared to 64 percent men).   

It is out of this situation that special provisions were enacted to empower women to participate in decision making processes through deliberate representation. The threshold level for special seats has since rose from 15 percent in 1995 election to 30 percent of all the parliamentary seats in the 2005 election.

How it works Like in most African countries, women In Tanzania enter the parliament through the quota system.

Basically there are 3 types of gender quotas; constitutional quotas like the one in Uganda where the constitution mandates one female representative from every district. Then there is the election laws quota that uses election rules to ensure women representation.

Lastly there are the political party quotas where parties set rules and targets for the gender balance. In Tanzania, the quota system is essentially constitutional as per Article 66(1), (b) of the Constitution of the United Republic (1977)

Mr Robert Kasenene of the  United Nation Association in Tanzania believes that affirmative action is still needed to make sure women's issues are voiced in the key desicion making organs like parliament.  "Since independence, opportunities for women to participate in the government have been skewed with cultural and social beliefs that put men at leadership positions and women behind," he says  

He says its true opportunities are equal now as the number of female students has increased in school and more women are taking up executive positions but it is just not enough. "Despite the fact that people are more enlightened, we cannot guarantee that society will make up equal level of participation because this is an issue embedded in culture and history. Sure women will compete but let affirmative action stand to make sure their representation is there" he said.

Information from Tanzania Center for democracy reiterates the fact that Women representation in Tanzania parliament is low. Women have relied on nomination to parliament since 1961 till 1985 when the first woman won a seat .But despite the affirmative action representation still remains small at 30.4 per cent.  

The disproportionate participation of women in politics was reflected in the 2005 elections for parliamentary and councillorship seats. Only 5.8 percent female candidates vied for councilor seats compared to 94.2 per cent men and 13 percent women for parliamentary seats compared to 87 percent men.  

Asked if affirmative has worked since its introduction, Ananilea Nkya, executive director TAMWA says yes and no.  Yes because they did increase the representation of women in parliament which would not have happened if the special seats and nomination had not made it possible.    "But it has 2 faces, because, there are those women who got to parliament through special seats and have brought development and have been able to highlight women issues in parliament but there are those who have been there for years and have done nothing at all," she said.

She says the whole process of nominations has been polluted because the choice is not based on equality and credentials to determine the most suitable candidates. "There have been a lot of complaint from men and women alike about the nominations and what criteria is used to make them, If the same people went to vie for seats would they get votes?" she asks.

She also pointed out that one of the disadvantages of affirmative action is that it has brought out subordination of women especially in decision making. "They are not at liberty to oppose or insist on change because they were nominated or given special seats" she added. Do we need it now?  "My stand is that the time for affirmative action is over, it was a good thing then but not now; women are now well aware of the power of voting, the media and NGOs have done a good job with provide voter education and empowerment" she said.

She gives a case example of 2005 general election where in the ruling party CCM, out of the 18 women who competed for seats 17 won, clearly showing that Tanzania is ready for women leadership.

"I challenge political parties in the country to slot strong and capable women to vie for seats instead of giving them special seats" she said. According to her nominations and special seats should be reserved for people who really need it like the disable because they require special treatment. The government should fight corruption as it is one of the reasons the women candidates are not capable of competing. Generally women are not economically empowered thus they have nothing to bribe during the campaigns, compared to the men," she says.

What other people say  Affirmative action does not have too many supporters as most people feel it is unnecessary and implies that women required preferential treatment.  "The moment we start looking at people as either male or female we open up a can of worms no one can deal with.

In our company for example there are more male than female, and as much we want gender equality, we cannot compromise standards in the name of equality" said Paula David a HR manger at a city firm  She went on to say that what they do is encourage female candidates to apply for positions in the company as a way of bringing gender balance.   

"Right now women have the same resources as men unlike in the earlier days so affirmative action is unnecessary, let them compete," she stated.  

He says during recruitment or a promotion, consideration is based purely on performance and capability. He went on further to argue that soon the gender debate and preference would bring chaos as the men will feel they deserve special treatment too.   "Women are capable, they can compete with men because now they have similar opportunities, so not only does affirmative action makes them lazy, it is also discriminatory" he concluded .
 
Even women who are beneficiaries of affirmative action are not as enthusiastic about it as they were once before.  Some feel that it has served its purpose and is now hindering competiveness among them   "Affirmative action was a great way to get women representation in parliament in a male dominated society but it soon lost its meaning" said Mary Matete a woman leader who plans to get into politics this year.
 
She went on to say that affirmative action has been corrupted since it is affected through political parties which are prone to fauvorism and discrimination.   "They use it to endorse women who are not best in terms of development but nominate women who are either relatives, girlfriends or who are only there to advance their political ambitions and ideologies" she said.  
 
She went further to say that the whole point of promoting women's and gender equality issues was lost. The cause was good but it got corrupt and lost meaning. According to her increase in women representation in the parliament did not necessary mean representation of women issues or development.  

In the context of Tanzania's male dominated political parties, the parties will only support some quotas or affirmative action which favour their position, rather than those which will substantially transform party politics and finally have a larger impact on the political playing field

The question is why is it that despite numerical gains in women representation after the constitutional requirement, women's agenda and interests are still not represented?   "That is because women's representation in Tanzania is strictly tied to political parties Ananilea believes that they have not worked because the women nominated are in most cases not the right people to represent women issues. I have gone to the grassroots and saw women ready to seek representation in parliament so they can address their issues."  She went ahead to give an example of a woman win a local government seat in Mwarazi, Morogoro, a place where men have always been winning.