INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the micdilm master. UMI films the text diredly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, som thesis and dissertation copies are in typemiter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality d this mproduction k dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, cdored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print Meedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can advewly atled reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauttro&ed copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.9.. maps, drawings, charts) are teproducd by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand wmer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Photographs induded in the original manuscript have been repraduad xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6' x 9" Mack and white photographic prints am available for any photographs or illustntims amring in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. Be11 & Hawell Irrformation and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1 346 USA ~521-0600 Democratisation in Tanzania: Women's Associations and the Potential for Empowerment Andrea M. Brown A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of Political Science University of Toronto O by Andrea M. Brown 1999 National Library Bibliothmue nationale 1+1 of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographic Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395. rue Wellington OnawaON KIA W OttawaON KIA ON4 Canada Canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive pennettant a la National Library of Canada to Bibliotheque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, preter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette these sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/film, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format electronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriete du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protege cette these. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or othenvise de celle-ci ne doivent &re imprimes reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. De~?rocratisatio,tit1 Tnrrzanio: Women 2 dssociatzons and dze Potenfiulfor Empowerment by Andrea M. Brown. A thesis in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Graduate Department of Political Science, University of Toronto, 1999. Abstract This work is an exploratory study mapping the emerging relationship between women's empowerment and democratisation in Tanzania, from a class perspective. It explores the impacts of the political reform process, which began in the mid-1980s, on the organisational capacities of women in Dar es Salaam and the new opportunities emerging for these women to meet empowerment goals. Middle-class women are self-consciously addressing and transforming political, legal and cultural gender power relations as well as initiating practical strategies for women. Poor women are engaging mainly in strategies to meet their practical economic needs, empowering themselves in a more indirect fashion. The distinction between strategic and practical gender interests, developed by Caroline Moser (1989, 1993) and the structural framework formulated by DAWN (Sen and Grown 1985) are operationalised and critiqued to help evaluate strategies most likely to result in the realisation of empowerment. The determination of what strategies and outcomes can be evaluated as empowering is in this study weighted towards the opinions and experiences of the women involved. The practicavstrategic distinction as used by Moser is unable to account for empowering outcomes that emerge from practical strategies at both class levels, but most significantly for women working in the informal sector. The DAWN model is ill equipped to address political environment, the middle- class women's movement as a whole, or lower-income women's organisational activities. Transformations within the culture and the economy, and new policies responding to areas identified as of gender concern are resulting in an overall increase in the number of women's empowerment objectives being met at the levels of the family, civil society and the state. Nevertheless, concerns remain with the limited nature of reforms, which have implications for a continued and sustained deepening of both democracy and the potential for women to formulate and realise empowerment goals. However, in comparison with women's movements in Kenya, Zimbabwe and Zambia, the Tanzanian movement is seen as most promising due to its high level of unity and a more supportive political environment. Acknowledgements This study could never have been completed without the ongoing support of many institutions and individuals. Financial support from the University of Toronto and the Centre for International Studies at the University of Toronto is greatly appreciated. I would also like to thank the Lnstitute of Development Studies at the University of Dar es Salaam for taking me on as a research associate for the duration of my stay in Tanzania, and the Ministry of Science and Technology for granting me research clearance. Also in Tanzania I would like to thank the staff at the Tanzanian Association of Non- Governmental Organisations (TANGO), and in particular its chairman Dennis ~Muchunguzi, for assistance in helping me locate women's organisations. Especially desening of thanks are all of the district and ward employees of the Ministry of Community Development, Women's Affairs and Children who scheduled interviews for me and travelled with me all over Dar es Salaam so I could carry them out. My thesis committee, made up of Professor Richard Sandbrook, Professor Jonathan Barker and Professor Patricia McCarney, offered insightful and useful feedback over the duration of this research. I wouId like to thank my supervisor Richard Sandbrook especially, for his ongoing patience and encouragement. Not only were his comments on the development of my proposal and my writing of this thesis invaluable, but his supportive emails while I was in Tanzania were a great boost to my confidence in what I was trying to accomplish. Special thanks need to go to my research assistant Asha Hariz. She assisted me in much more than translation, navigating me though all the areas of Dar es Salaam and contributing important perspectives on this research as it was carried out. Although it may not always have been evident at the time, I am appreciative of her continued pressure for me to use and improve my Swahili, despite the hilarity this at times generated. The willingness of a11 my interviewees in meeting with me and speaking Eiankly about their lives, activities and the changing political and economic climate in Tanzania was essential in making this study what it is. I am particularly grateful to the women in informal sector groups who met with me for interviews scheduled by the Ministry of Community Development, many of whom had to wait to be interviewed, taking time away from their businesses. Professor Ibrahim Shao at the Institute of Development Studies was exceedingly helpful upon my anival in Dar es Salaam, particularly with ensuring that my research clearance made its way though the bureaucracy. Thanks are also due to both Professors Halfani for providing me with office space at the Institute and securing for me initial accommodation arrangements. When I first arrived in Dar I stayed with a relative of the Halfani's, Alvin Kirundwa, whose hospitality and warmth provided me with the best welcome to Tanzania anyone could hope for. Behveen November and May I lived with the Mkony's in Kijitonyama. The Mkony's welcomed me into their family life and my stay in Dar es Salaam would have been nowhere near as rewarding without this. The friendship (and hot water) of Pippy Warburton and Peter Wobst also made my stay in Dar what it was. The continued support of my family was essential in my finishing this study. IMy parents Christmas visit to me in Tanzania allowed me to share a little with them of my enthusiasm for the country, Afier letting me move back in with them for the last year and a half, they never let on if their belief in my ability to finish was challenged, but gave me the space to write in comfort unheard of by most students. Without their confidence and help this process would have been much more difficult. While all these institutions and individuals share in the strengths of this study, all of the shortcomings are my own. CONTENTS Abstract ii Acknowledgements iv List of Tables viii Chapter 1 : Introduction: Democratisation in Tanzania - Women's Associations and the Potential for Empowerment 1.0 Introduction I 1.2 Context 8 I .3 Conceptual Framework 15 1.4 Methodology 40 iVores 52 Chapter 2: Democratic Openings and the Tanzanian Women's Movement 2.0 Democratic openings and associational growth 53 2.1 Identified gender concerns: the need for empowerment 58 2.2 Strategies for empowerment 85 2.3 Assessment: measuring empowerment and rating group's contributions