Is girl child marriage being your concern? Or you are searching for a project based on women empowerment? Your search ends here. This project aims to bring about gender balance and justice within the community so as to improve the women socio-economic status and bring about community sustainable development. The main goal of the project is to eliminate child marriage practices by creating awareness to the community and promoting the girl’s child rights so that they can be free and able reach their wishes as child marriage limits access to education to them and it limits girls’ life opportunities and their ability and confidence to make informed decisions about their lives and directly threatens girls’ health and well-being. The objectives of the project include promotion of women rights and bring about socio-economic equality between boys and girls in all development spheres and change the altitude of the community towards the position and role of women for the need of attaining gender balance and rapid development.
Executive Summary
Tanzania and the World in general recognize that child marriage and gender inequality is major obstacle to women socio-economic development. The Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania endorses gender equality and equity and guarantees full participation of women and men in social, Economic and political life. In Tanzania women have consistently constituted over 50% of the country population and about 79% of them are living in rural areas (Integrated Labor Force Survey Report 2014). Despite the different Declarations implemented by the United Nations, different efforts that have been initiated by the Government of Tanzania child marriage still deeply embedded in Tanzanian society. The practice of dowry payment by the groom to the bride’s family is a key incentive for many families to marry off their daughters in child age. In many cultures in Tanzania, girls are generally considered ready for marriage when they reach puberty and marriage is viewed as a way to protect them from pre-marital sex and pregnancy that undermine family honor and may decrease the amount of dowry a family may receive. Some girls see marriage as a way out of poverty, violence, or neglect. Though its prevalence rate differs from one community to another and from one region to another. In Tanzania 37% of girls is married before reaching 18 years and Nzega (Tabora) is the leading district that takes 58% (Integrated Labor Force Survey Report 2014). This is against human rights as the young girls and women are not given chance to develop their talents so as to reach their wills and this jeopardizes the socio-economic development among the women and hence most of them are poor compared to their men counterparts.
XXXXXXX realize that the continued marginalization of young girl’s protection and women empowerment within communities hinder the rapid social, economic, political and cultural development thus we have to eliminate these behaviors of forcing young girls to be married before the age and promote equality of both men and women for sustainable and gender balanced development.
TumainiJipya (New Hope) is among the projects that are intended to be implemented by XXXXXX in Tabora, Tanzania for four months (from any time when the fund is available). The project will be implemented in Nzega district in Tabora region in two rural wards aiming at eliminating child marriage practices that are practiced by some parents especially in rural areas by taking bribes from men and forcing their young girls to be married instead of being taken to school and promoting gender equalities, by ending gender discrimination, stereotype and violence against women in rural areas and empowering them in social, political and economic aspects so as to narrow the gap between men and women for sustainable development. Basically this will be achieved by concertizing and creating awareness to rural community to abandon the wrong traditions, beliefs and practices that accelerate child marriage practices, gender inequality, discrimination and violence within the community and encouraging the young girls to go to school as well as building capacity for rural women to involve themselves into entrepreneurial activities so that they can earn income and raise up themselves from the poverty circle and reducing the gender gap.
The project will be implemented within four months for awareness creation through training, short films and dramatization shows via meetings, cinemas, mass media, website and other social Medias so as to reach big number of people in different parts of Tanzania. The targeted population are rural young girls and women who are experiencing severely child marriages (as Nzega District is the leading in Tanzania and Africa in General as 59% of married women are married before reaching the 18 years (Integrated Labour Force Survey, 2014)), gender discrimination, gender violence, poverty and gender oppression (65.8%) compared to the urban women (57.0) (Kivulini Survey Report 2009). The project aims at implementing the Tanzanian Child Development Policy (2008), Tanzania Child Protection Act (2009), Women and Gender Development Policy (2000), the World Summit (2005) Resolution on Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women and it targets to reach about 1,200 people as direct beneficiaries from two rural wards (Mwangoye and Sembela). The whole project will cost about TZS 38, 196, 000 ($ 17,521.10). This includes all the costs required to operate the project from the beginning to the end. At the end of the project we expect to have the community that adhere for girl’s child rights and women dignity and empowering women and girls in social, economic and political aspects and mobilized community who ensure the equality for all men and women for rapid and sustainable development.
Organizational Background
XXXXXis a registered Faith Based Organization working to promote socio-economic development in Tanzania. It was established March, 2002 and attained its official registration on 22nd October, 2002 under CAP 375 under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). This is a National level Organization that has been allowed to work in Tanzania Mainland. A large and growing body of researches and gender projects has shown how gender inequality undermines women and development.
XXXXXX was formed according to the willingness of the community people in a view to deal with the present socio-economic problems in different areas in Tanzania Mainland by means of good understanding and sharing the problems each other and to find out the best way of solving the problems through free discussion in different projects and people participation in the decision making and get together under an umbrella of XX Organization.
Vision, Mission and Goal
Vision
A society that upholds peace and love, equality, dignity, respect and fairness for all in order to meet socio-economic development.
Mission
Effectively and efficiently to promote peace and love, equality and freedom from discrimination and segregation of all persons (male and female) in the society in general.
Goal
To increase engagement of grassroots people and other marginalized groups with community transformation and social justice issues for rapid and sustainable development.
Targeted Area
The project will be implemented in Nzega District. It is one of the seven (7) districts that constitute the Tabora region of Tanzania. It is bordered to the north by Shinyanga Region, to the south and southwest by the Uyui District and to the east by the Igunga District. The district has a total of 502,252 residents whereby 245,003 are male and 257,249 are female (Tanzania Population and Housing Census 2012). It has 37 administrative wards from which two rural wards (Mwangoye and Semembela) have been selected for the project because of the presence of excess child marriage, gender inequalities, discrimination and violence. From these two wards one village from each ward will be selected for the project.
Problem Statement
Child marriage is deeply embedded in Tanzanian society. Tanzania has one of the highest child marriage prevalence rates in the world. In many cultures in Tanzania, girls are generally are considered ready for marriage when they reach puberty and marriage is viewed as a way to protect them from pre-marital sex and pregnancy that undermine family honor and may decrease the amount of dowry a family may receive. Almost 2 out of 5 girls in Tanzania especially in rural areas are married or impregnated before their 18th birthday (Human Rights Watch, 2016). According to the Integrated Labour Force Survey (2014) it was reealed that 7% of girls in Tanzania are married before 15 years, 37% of girls are married before 18 years, in Tabora 58% of girls are married before 18 years where by the leading district is Nzega in which 59% of married women were found to be married before 18 years. Some girls are forced to get married young so as to generate an income, or mahari (dowry), which can then be used by their brothers to secure a wife. There is also a practice known as Nyumbantobu which involves older wealthier men paying a bride price for a young girl to become his wife.
Also, the study conducted by Kivulini Women’s Rights Organization 2009 (Mara, Mwanza, Kagera, Shinyanga and Tabora) revealed that among the women surveyed, a total of 85% experience some form of psychological violence. The most common form of emotional violence experienced by women (84.5%) was being insulted by their partner. Among the women surveyed, 56.2% had also experienced some form of physical violence.
When looking at the rates of violence based on the surveyed area, it was found that 57.0% of women in urban districts and 65.8% of women in rural districts had experienced some form of sexual or physical abuse. Therefore, the analysis revealed there is a big problem in Nzega where by girls are married before reaching the adult age instead of being at school, also women from rural areas are significantly more likely to experience inequalities and oppression from men than those from urban areas because of presence of patriarchy system. That is why according to this justification; the organization is willing to implement this project in Nzega District especially in rural areas due to the presence of high number of child marriage and women who are experiencing different forms of gender domestic violence, inequalities and unrespect. Thus, we need to empower women by working with communities to change their altitudes and create an environment of safety, equality and respect.
Project Justification
This project aims to bring about gender balance and justice within the community so as to improve the women socio-economic status and bring about community sustainable development and meet the aims of different policies and declaration such as Child Development Policy (2009), Women and Gender Development Policy (2000), Women in Development Policy (WID) (1992) and the World Summit (2005) Resolution on Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women that aim at eliminating all forms of social, economic, political and cultural gender imbalances.
Project Goal
- To eliminate child marriage practices by creating awareness to the community and promoting the girl’s child rights so that they can be free and able reach their wishes as child marriage limits access to education to them and it limits girls’ life opportunities and their ability and confidence to make informed decisions about their lives and directly threatens girls’ health and well-being.
- To eliminate of all forms of gender discrimination, stereotype, domestic violence against women, forbearing the Female Genital Mutilation Practices, economic strengthening and building legal capacity to women and empowering them so as to narrow the gap between men and women in economic, social, political and cultural aspects for sustainable development.
- To create legal capacity among the women so as to bring about gender balance and gender justice in resource ownership and decision making for sustainable development.
- Project Objectives
- To promote women rights and bring about socio-economic equality between boys and girls in all development spheres and change the altitude of the community towards the position and role of women for the need of attaining gender balance and rapid development.
- To promote joint campaign for fighting against the Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) practices to community for women health protection and survival.
- To sensitize the community and build capacity for rural women to initiate and undertake different income generating projects such as garden farming, small businesses and chicken keeping so that they can earn income and raise up themselves from the poverty circle and being capable to run their life rather than depending everything from their husbands.
- To campaign for Social Behaviour and Communication Change (SBCC) and creating awareness to the rural community about family planning, HIV/AIDS, malaria, empowering the vulnerable group.
Beneficiaries of Project
The project will be implemented in Nzega District in within two rural wards (Mwangoye and Sembela) due to the excess presence of child marriage, gender inequalities, domestic gender violence and practices in these areas. The main targeted people are young girls (aged 9-17 years) and women in rural areas as they are most vulnerable group of gender inequalities, discrimination, stereotype, domestic violence and Female Genital Mutilation practices but also men will be involved so as to create awareness for all genders for success and sustainability of the project. Also, the project intends to benefits the whole community of Nzega and other parts of Tanzania as the selected people will be ambassadors for resisting the continuation of wrong actions, practices, traditions, beliefs and values that accelerate the submissiveness and oppression of women in the community for rapid and sustainable social, economic, political and cultural development.
Project Implementation Duration
The project will be implemented within four months that is expected to start from any time when the fund is available.
Approach
The project will be implemented by creating awareness through meetings, seminars and workshops that will be facilitated through the training, video show of short films and dramatizations having the themes pertaining to child marriage, girl’s discrimination and oppression, gender violence and women involvement on different entrepreneurial activities for raising their income status. This will be accompanied by assisting in forming the women groups and VICOBA in rural and formation of clubs at schools and child marriage champions/ambassadors for project sustainability. The seminars, training and workshops will be involving the men also so as to create awareness to the whole community about the side effects of gender inequality, gender violence, gender stereotype, gender discrimination and the role of women in bringing about rapid social, economic and political development.
Project Activities
The project will involve the three key activities so as to attain the desired and pre-described goals which are:
- Creating awareness to the community about early marriage and its effects to young girls, women and the community at large.
- Creating awareness to the community about gender issues and the importance of empowering women in the community for social, economic and political development and campaigning for Social Behavior Change Communication.
- Building capacity to rural women on entrepreneurship skill and formation of women groups and VICOBA for income generating, saving and crediting.
Visibility
Monitoring and evaluation of the project will be the first means to ensure visibility of project by making sure that we are working according to the plan at the same time we will maintain communication associated with the project activities between the project participant and donors.
Partners
The organization intends to implement this project in partnership with the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Women, Elders and Children, Women Lowers Association (TAWLA), MLEEACO.
Project Proposed Budget
The project will be implemented within four months; the total proposed budget for the whole project operation is TZS xxxxxxxx. This will be used for operational and administration costs.
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
Project monitoring and evaluation of this proposal will be divided into progress monitoring and evaluation and post project evaluation.
Progress monitoring
Monitoring of the project focus on effective utilization of project resources, and ensure that the implementation of activities is done according to work plan and project progress where by every activity will be monitored effectively and efficiently from the start of the project to the end of the project. Here the project will be well monitored as from the start of the project to the end of the project.
Evaluation plan
Project evaluation will be the responsibility of the Project Evaluator and consist of two different evaluative strategies – formative and summative.
Formative Evaluation – This is in progress evaluation which will be conducted through interviews and open-ended questionnaires to the community and local leaders to assess the progress impact to the community. This will be monthly evaluation in which the community will be asked about the day-to-day operation of the project and what the impacts they get from the project. The Project Evaluator will meet regularly with project staffs to share findings from the formative evaluation so as to improve the operation.
Summative Evaluation– This is the post project evaluation which will be conducted to assess whether the project attain the proposed goals and objectives and anticipated results to the community. This will be conducted through research and baseline survey and the report will be issued and submitted to donors and government to presents the formative and summative finding.
Reporting Plan
The project operational reports will be given to the Donors, Partners, Management, Government Leader and the Community depending to the level and the need of the report. There will be monthly reports and post project reports that will be submitted in softcopies and hardcopies. Also, the reports will be store by the organization in form of file, spread sheet and excel for future use and references.
Data Management
The data will be stored and submitted in form of spread sheet, database, excels and hardcopies.
Conclusion
The organization is committed to its code of conduct to implement this project to the targeted areas and beneficiaries within the proscribed duration so as to eliminate child marriage, promote gender equality, freedom from discrimination and violence and empowering the rural women so as to bring about community development. Thereafter we will request more fund and assistance to implement the phase two project that will aim at supporting the women groups in terms of financial, material and skills by giving them the loans so that they can be able to establish or run different entrepreneurial activities such as garden farming, poultry, small business which will make them earn income to improve their living status and reducing the economic gap between men and women especially in rural areas. Thus, the organization needs the integrated support financially and materially in order to achieve the organizational goals.
