Form 5 General Studies (GS) – CONTEMPORARY/CROSS- CUTTING ISSUES IN TANZANIA

MATRIARCHY SYSTEM
Matriarchy system is the system in the society where by females, especially mother have the central role of all social political issues of the community. In this system a mother is said to have power to control and run the family however being dominant even in community issues. The societies with such a system are also termed as gynocentric society. Generally  matriarchy system can be defined as the social political formation in which women occupies the ruling power and position in the family which is the primary cell of the society.

CHARACTERISTICS/ FEATURES OF MATRIARCHY SYSTEM

1. Women direct all social political and cultural issues of the community.
2. The mother is the head of the family and all descendants.
3. There is equity in division of roles, duties and share.
4. A woman is likely to rule the state.
5. Existence of woman power and say in the society.
6. Popularity of female title and   names in social issue.
7. Consideration of women as important figures in the society.

Impact of gender discrimination on social and economic development

Gender inequality has a great impact especially on women and poverty. Men have more opportunities to have an income, have more political and social rights than women. Women experience more poverty than men due to gender discrimination.

Following below are the impact/effects of gender discrimination on social and economic development;

1. The inability of some mothers to meet the financial needs of their families. This has had an impact on the level of post natal care and thus on health of their children. For example, it has been researched and found that some mothers do not attend clinics if they perceive that their children’s clothes are un-presentable.

1. Increase of maternal mortality rate: These have been an increase in maternal mortality rate. It is regarded as a key indicator of women’s unequal access to health care. Causes are attributed to abortion, toxemia in pregnancy, pre-eclampsia, post hemorrhage:  sepsis during child birth and ruptured uterus due to early marriages among girls.

1. Humiliation and exploitation of women due to rape, forced prostitution, kidnapping of girls and trafficking of women for sexual business.

1. Poor health to women due to, for instance, bearing many children and being over worked by productive roles, reproductive roles and community roles

1. Disability and incapacitation of woman due to domestic violence. Some form physical violence from the husbands or male partners may range from the pushing and slapping to battering and maiming.

1. Poor diet due to forbidding women to eat certain types of nutritious food such as mutton, eggs, etc.

1. Poverty and misery. This happens due to denial of property ownership such as land inheritance and property inheritance, etc

1. Lack of financial support: Most women do not qualify to get bank loans for running economic activities since they lack collateral security as they do not have access to property ownership.

1. Killing of female babies at birth or female infanticide due to son preference.
2. Old age abandonment or neglect due to lack of children or lack of support.

Affirmative actions towards balance gender relations (Gender mainstreaming)

Affirmative actions refer to steps taken to address gender issues in all development projects and programmes by distributing duties and responsibilities involving both sexes. Tanzania has, since independence, taken measures with a view of realizing equality between women and men by ensuring access to, and equal opportunities in political and public life including the right to vote and to stand for elections as well as the right to education, health and employment. The following are specific affirmative actions taken to balance gender relations:

(i) Lowering admission cut-off points for female: cut off points for females to be admitted at the upper secondary and higher education have been lowered. For Example, in Tanzania female candidates who have attained the minimum required grades to enter public universities are allowed.

(ii) Introduction of pre-entry programmes to female students: This was introduced in 1997 in Tanzania to address the relatively small number of female students and academic staff in the faculty of sciences at the University of Dar es Salaam. Currently, six weeks remedial or pre-entry programme benefits candidates with science background.

(iii) Gender equal interventions on Employment: There have been measures to bring about equal opportunities in employment. This has been done through development and establishment of equal employment opportunity office and putting in place the legal stipulations which strongly disnglish-swahili/courage” target=”_blank”>courage discrimination in the Tanzania Employment and Labour Relations Act No. 6 and Labour Institutions Act No.7 of 2004.

(iv) Female scholarships and other forms of financial assistance: At the higher education level, there are various women only scholarship programmes from government and non-government sources. For example, the Carnegie Corporations through full cost scholarship programs for girls give support to Tanzania girls enrolled in undergraduate course.

(v) Enacting strict laws against negative cultural practices such as female genital mutilation: For example in 1998, the government passed the “sexual Offences Special Provision Act (SOSPA) to address fun Gender-based violation of which female genital mutilation to girls below 10 years was made illegal.

(vi) Placing women in positions of responsibility and influence so as to make them demonstrate their capabilities: for example: constitutional amendment of April 2000 allowed the president of the United Republic of Tanzania to nominate up to ten members of parliament and increased the number of special seats for women from 15% to 20% depending on the allocation made by the National Electoral Commission from time to time.

(vii) Allowing women to inherit property: For example, Land Act No.4 and the village Land Act No.5 of 1999 and the Amendment to the Land Act in 2004 improved women’s accessibility to land. Sections 3(2) and 23(2) of the village Land Act provided for the right of women to be allocated land and impose a duty on the village council to ensure maximum protection of their rights.

(viii) Setting gender specific policies. For example, Women and Gender Development Policy of 2000.

(ix) Enactment of laws against gender discrimination: For example, following the recent development in 13^th Constitutional Amendment (2000) gender discrimination nation was made to be a gender issue. Moreover, affirmative action has continued to be taken to ensure increase of women in representative  bodies [the parliament and local government council] which at the moment has already reached 30%

1. HIV/AIDS

Pandemic disease refers to a rapidly spreading disease affecting many people in a certain place resulting from a certain abnormal circumstance.

HIV/AIDS PANDEMIC
The HIV disease is deviation of the body from its normal immunity condition, HIV is an acronym of the (human immune deficiency virus).
These viruses are mostly blooded transmitted or transmitted in fluid condition, thus do attack the helper cells of the body immunity system, so causing weakness of the body immunity which gives to the incurable AIDS as a disease.

FACTORS LEADING TO SPREADING OF HIV

These factors are much socio cultural connected

1. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
2. Raping.
3. Blood transfusion.
4. Polygamy.
5. Inheritance of widow/spouse.
6. Sharing of sharp tools like needles razor blades etc.
7. During the child birth in breast feeding.
8. Unprotected sexual intercourse.
9. Early marriage or forced marriage.

SYMPTOMS AND SIGNS OF HIV/AIDS

Early infection of HIV/AIDS often produces no signs or symptoms it can take a year before HIV weakens the immune system whereby the following symptoms can be observed.

1. Dry /coughing and short breathing.
2. Red/brown/purplish color inside mouth or nose or eyes.
3. Mental illness such as loss of memory often forgetfulness and neurological disorder.
4. Several headache.
5. Swollen lymph glands.
6. Rapid loss of weight.
7. A kind of skin cancer diseases.
8. Pneumonia.
9. Persistent and severe diarrhea.
10. Sever and persistent fever.
11. Lack of coordination in nerve and several painful in swallow.
12. Wide spots on tongue mouth and throat.

NB

Do not rely on this  sign to establish diagnosis of AIDS symptoms might also be similar to those of other diseases and illness of a person

EFFECTS OF AIDS PANDEMIC

1. Loss of life expectancy.
2. Loss of man power.
3. Increase of orphans.
4. Acceleration of poverty rate.
5. Increase in government expenditure.
6. Increase of miseries and sufferings.
7. It stagnates economic.
8. Leads to family separation.
9. Exit of generation.

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