WOMEN AND GENDER

Different measures has been taking place to ensure Women Development going hand by hand with the negative change of perception on Women. This also involves training on gender issues to the different stakeholders, public meetings as that of World Women Day conducted every 8 March of the year all these efforts intend to see fruitful results after a while in our Rukwa Region. Not only in our Rukwa Region but also to the other place women are subordinated, suppressed, oppressed and discriminated all these because people are not gender sensitive. We as Community Development Officers we take this as our challenge and it is our duty to make community aware on gender issues starting to the place of works where there are gaps on gender consideration,

KEY CONCEPT

• SEX: - Identifies the biological differences between women and men
• GENDER: - is the culturally specific set of characteristics that identifies the social behavior of women and men and the relationship between them. Gender, therefore, refers not simply to women or men, but to the relationship them, and the way it is socially constructed. Because it is a relational term, gender must include women and men. Like the concepts of class, race and ethnicity, gender is an analytical tool for understanding social processes.
• GENDER EQUITY: - is the process of being fair to women and men. To ensure fairness, measures must often be available to compensate for historical and social disadvantages that prevent women and men from otherwise operating on a level playing field. Equity leads to equality.
• GENDER EQUALITY: - Means that women and men enjoy the same status. Gender equality means that women and have equal conditions for realizing their full human rights and potential to contribute to national, political, economic, social and cultural development, and benefit from the results.

 

On gender issues our Rukwa Region considers “if development is not engendered, it is endangered”. In order to ensure development is on the right track and not endangered, it must be guided to ensure that it is gender sensitive, resources are allocated to benefit all categorized of citizens, and that all men and women enjoy fruits of development activities, strategies and policies. In order to ensure above, the gender disparities in development activities must be measured, monitored and eradicated. The Community Development Department of Rukwa Region believes in equity and equality and has committed itself to fully embracing address gender concerns and thus ensuring gender mainstreaming at all LGAs in Rukwa Region.

 

Our main focus in gender issues to our region includes:-

•  Women's rights and legal literacy

•  Women's participation in decision making process at various levels, improved status and self-confidence.

•  Economic empowerment for women that will increase the independent income for women

•  Increasing control of women over resources especially ownership of land and adequate access to information technology and inputs

•  Decreasing women's work load and improving the division of work between men and women

•  Increasing food resources at household level

•  Elimination of negative traditional practices against child girl and woman

•  Developing gender disaggregated data systems to track the changes of gender relation and situation of women in the course of development process

 

The primary task to the Community Development Department in the Regional Secretariat is that of data collection analysis and dissemination in order to have the baseline which will lead the intervention in terms of advisory role to the LGAs. Another task will be on the issue of Budget, Scrutinize LGAs and RS Budget and to provide advise to the RS and LGAs on gender mainstreaming in their budget.

 

The primary task to the LGAs on the gender issues is to make sure gender awareness is increasing to their areas by addressing all obstacles to reach the targets.

 

POVERTY ALLEVIATION

Regional Government tried to find various means to address the problem, the remarkable event apart from many is that of investor's forum which took place in Sumbawanga on the 2 nd June, 2007. This initiative intend to open eyes the entire world what Rukwa Region has but not yet exploited. We all know that where there is investment there is employment as well it is a local market to the surrounding community.

 

Also there are other big investors (Energy Milling and SAAFI) allocated their huge capital to invest in Rukwa Region. Regional Government continued to build up conducive environment to attract internal and external investors to come and invest in Rukwa Region