Women’s empowerment in Tanzania: Its application by Women’s CBOs in Mwanza

Abstract

The objective of this study was to find out if pathways of empowerment to women in CBOs in Mwanza Region had positive impacts on their living conditions. The three women CBOs in question were: Amani na Tumaini in Magu town who were trained in agroforestry technologies; Muungano wa Wajane (widows) in Nyamanoro who were employed by the agents of the Mwanza City Council to sweep streets and collect garbage, and Tubadilike SACCOs in Nyakato Mwanza city which was involved in savings and credit transactions particularly in giving loans to its members to do business. Building a full understanding of each CBO by using the qualitative approach and focus group discussion shows how they shaped their lives. For example, those who were empowered by loans benefitted by producing finance to support their businesses and families and improved their living conditions. Similarly, those who were empowered through training in agroforestry made money by selling nursery seedlings to supplement their incomes and opened up other opportunities in agro-economics. Finally, those who were empowered by being employed received salaries which guaranteed them of income security in their homes. In conclusion, the paper shows loans, training and employment as positive pathways for empowering women in Tanzania.
Keywords: empowerment, women’s groups, focus group discussion, CBOs