Rights and Leadership Programme
Pastoralists and Hunter-gatherers in Tanzania are at a crisis point in their history. They are experiencing pressures from outside forces, which are causing them to become poorer. They are in competition with wildlife, large-scale farmers and business people for their land. Their traditional way of life is being forced to change.
We believe it is essential to equip women with the knowledge and skills that will allow them to defend and protect their basic human rights:
Women's Rights Committees (WRCs) - Women’s Rights Committees (WRCs) have been successfully established in 42 remote rural communities to raise women’s awareness and critical understanding of politics, legislation and rights, their role in development and to give them an accessible local body to bring issues of Gender Based Violence (GBV). PWC believes that women’s rights committees are the best approach to address persistent gender inequalities in pastoralist communities. Members are given paralegal training on issues relevant to them such as property ownership and distribution of land after a man’s death, sexual harassment, child maintenance, rape, and early and forced marriages. Once armed with legal knowledge WRC members’ confidently return to their communities and train other women on their rights.
Through the WRCs we provide support to women who are victims of domestic violence, training them about their rights, linking them to the village government and district police and encouraging them to talk openly about their problems. We provide financial support to those who’ve been abandoned by their husbands for bringing criminal charges against them. Read Nekapi's story here...
Women's Leadership Forum (WLF) - In response to low participation of pastoral women in political decisions, resulting in lack of proper representation of women from village to the district levels, PWC has created the Women’s Leadership Forum (WLF) in partnership with Ujamaa Community Resource Team. The WLF meets with traditional male leaders and government officials in order to represent women’s views at a district level. Read Nasha's story here...
Land Rights - We have been working to ensure that communities are empowered to manage, make decisions and claim the benefits from their natural resources. We have been building capacity at different levels; helping to form natural resource committees, holding meetings with councillors, traditional leaders and young people and forming women’s action groups across the district. To learn more about PWC's land rights work please go to our Links and Publications page.
Lobbying and advocacy on behalf of pastoralist peoples - Most pastoralist communities are not aware of their citizenship rights. And these communities lack confidence to defend their interests and rights. Numerous decisions are made at the national and at the international levels without considering the impact on these vulnerable communities. We work with national and international partner organisations to advocate on behalf of communities who are at risk of exploitation by outside forces.
We believe it is essential to equip women with the knowledge and skills that will allow them to defend and protect their basic human rights:
Women's Rights Committees (WRCs) - Women’s Rights Committees (WRCs) have been successfully established in 42 remote rural communities to raise women’s awareness and critical understanding of politics, legislation and rights, their role in development and to give them an accessible local body to bring issues of Gender Based Violence (GBV). PWC believes that women’s rights committees are the best approach to address persistent gender inequalities in pastoralist communities. Members are given paralegal training on issues relevant to them such as property ownership and distribution of land after a man’s death, sexual harassment, child maintenance, rape, and early and forced marriages. Once armed with legal knowledge WRC members’ confidently return to their communities and train other women on their rights.
Through the WRCs we provide support to women who are victims of domestic violence, training them about their rights, linking them to the village government and district police and encouraging them to talk openly about their problems. We provide financial support to those who’ve been abandoned by their husbands for bringing criminal charges against them. Read Nekapi's story here...
Women's Leadership Forum (WLF) - In response to low participation of pastoral women in political decisions, resulting in lack of proper representation of women from village to the district levels, PWC has created the Women’s Leadership Forum (WLF) in partnership with Ujamaa Community Resource Team. The WLF meets with traditional male leaders and government officials in order to represent women’s views at a district level. Read Nasha's story here...
Land Rights - We have been working to ensure that communities are empowered to manage, make decisions and claim the benefits from their natural resources. We have been building capacity at different levels; helping to form natural resource committees, holding meetings with councillors, traditional leaders and young people and forming women’s action groups across the district. To learn more about PWC's land rights work please go to our Links and Publications page.
Lobbying and advocacy on behalf of pastoralist peoples - Most pastoralist communities are not aware of their citizenship rights. And these communities lack confidence to defend their interests and rights. Numerous decisions are made at the national and at the international levels without considering the impact on these vulnerable communities. We work with national and international partner organisations to advocate on behalf of communities who are at risk of exploitation by outside forces.
Copyright 2006-2013 – Pastoral Women’s Council (PWC). PWC is a Tanzanian registered charity SO.no.10180
