Patriarchy and VAW

Eradicating violence against women and girls is a complicated battle because it is associated with patriarchal and cultural beliefs. One common plight is of widows where the inheritance traditions impede their right to acquisition of resources after the death of the husband. A patriarchal relation that underpins the socio-cultural sphere largely determines the male bias in allocation of resources at the family, household and community level. Furthermore, early marriages for girls is partially influenced by cultural factors because parents either want to ensure girls do not get pregnant before being formally married or prioritise economic gains resulting from the bride price. Bride arranged marriages entangle women into the circle of violence. For example, in pastoral communities (i.e. Tarime, Singida, Ngorongoro, etc) girls are taken out of schools and forced into arranged marriages[1].

Moreover, gender disparities and patriarchal institutions circumscribe the extent of men’s licence to use violence against their partners. The court system that would have been expected to provide fair judgement are biased. A current study indicates that “the Judicial System in the country is also multi-tiered. The Primary Courts give precedence to customary laws based on patriarchal interpretation of the rights of women and men and always favour the former.”[2] In Tanzania the current legal system is a three tiered system consisting of customary, religious (mainly Islamic) and statutory law. The co-existence of these systems and the passing of new laws without making the appropriate amendments to existing laws, often contributes greatly towards the denial of women’s rights in spite of other good policies and laws. The existence of statutory is no assurance that a woman will be protected. Customary and religious laws hold considerable power in Tanzania.

Legal Human Rights Centre writes “women’s rights continued to be pummelled in the face of discriminatory legislation, sexual harassment, health care access, domestic violence, trafficking and harmful customary traditions and practices including FGM.[3]

Overall, in Tanzania despite having human rights conventions, international and national policies that condemn violence against women and girls, and call for its eradication, it continues to be a major obstacle to women’s quality of life, the health of relationships and the development of communities.

[1] UNICEF (1995) The Girl Child in Tanzania: Today’s Girl

[2] TGNP (2007, p.61),

[3] Legal Human Rights Centre (2005) Tanzania Human Rights Report 2005: Progress Through Human Rights

Patriarchy and Violence Against Women