THE STATE AND INDEPENDENT CIVIL ORGANISATIONS:

THE CASE OF TANZANIA WOMEN'S COUNCIL (BAWATA)

Prof Chris Maina Peter

Department of International Law, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

A Case Study prepared for the Civil Society and Governance in East Africa Project

(Tanzania Side)

December, 1999

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The truth is that in the villages women work very hard. At times they work for twelve or

fourteen hours. They even work on Sundays and public holidays. Women who live in the

villages work harder than anybody else in Tanzania. But men who live in villages .. are on

leave for half of their lives.

Julius Kambarage Nyerere1

I. Introduction

Il. Historical Background: The Right to Organise in Tanzania

(a). Legal Basis of the Right to Organise

(b). The Constitution, the Law and Policies

III. Organisation of Women in Tanzania

(a). Early Women's Organisations

(b). Women in the Independence Struggle

(c). Women Organisation after Independence

IV. The Fate of Mass Organisations in the Wake of Multi-Party Politics

V. BAWATA: Baraza la Wanawake wa Tanzania

VI. The First Clash with the State: The 1995 eneral Elections

VII. BAWATA versus the State

VIII. The Court of Law as an Arena of Struggle

IX. Conclusion: The Future of Independent Women's Organisation in Tanzania

X. References

I. Introduction1 See NYERERE, Julius K., Freedom and SocialismlUhuru na Ujamaa: A Selection from Writings and Speeches -1965-1967, Dar es Salaam: Oxford University Press, 1968, p. 245.

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This case study attempts to trace the struggle of Baraza la Wanawake wa Tanzania

(BAWATA) or the Women's Council of Tanzania to establish itself as an independent

organisation for women's in the country. Over the years since the colonial times, all forms of

independent organisation have always been restricted and controlled by the state. The

colonial regime ensured that no independent organisations survived peacefully. The

independent government on the other hand opted for a more subtle approach. It co-opted

these independent organisations into the state through the ruling party.

Women's organisations were no exception. The state ensured that these organisations were

led by acceptable leaders, particularly wives of the political leadership or top party cadres.

During most of the independence period, most of these organisations were led by members of

the cabinet. Even today the main women's organisation -Umoja wa Wanawake wa Tanzania

(UWT) is led by a senior female member of the Cabinet.

BAWATA was the first organisation to try and break off from this tradition and establish

itself as an independent organisation, free from the state and the ruling party. This was a

challenge to the status quo - a first of its kind which could not be left to succeed. That would

be creating a bad precedent for others to copy.

II. Historical Background: The Right to Organise in Tanzania

(a) Legal Basis of the Right to Organise

The right to organise is one of the most important fundamental human rights. This is because

it enables people to come together and pursue common interests and goals. It is a right which

is closely related to the right to associate and to assemble peacefully and freely. The highest

manifestation of this right, which covers all sections of the society, is the formation of

political parties, trade unions and other types of non-governmental organisations.

The international community in various international legal instruments underlines the need to

provide and guarantee both the right to organise and to associate and assemble in various

ways. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 provides in Article 20 that:

Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

The Declaration continues:

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No one may be compelled to belong to an association

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966 in Article 21 underlines

what is provided in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and goes further to indicate

that this right cannot be restricted anyhow except where it is absolutely necessary.2

At a municipal level, rightly or wrongly, people organised properly in any form are perceived

by the state as a danger to its very existence. This explains the constant desire by the state to

ensure a tight control over the means and forms of organisation that are available under the

law.

(b) The Constitution, the Law and Policies

In Tanzania the right to freedom of association and peaceful assembly is provided in a very

confused manner. It is surrounded by various restrictions. The Constitution of the United

Republic of Tanzania of 1977 in Article 20 (1) provides:

Every person is entitled to freedom, subject to the laws of the land, to freely and

peaceably assemble, associate and co-operate with other persons, express views

publicly, and more especially to form or join associations or organisations formed for

the purposes of preserving or furthering his beliefs or interests of any other interests.

Sub-articles (2) and (3) then indicate further restrictions in relation to formation of political

parties. These restrictions were introduced in 1992 following the introduction of multi-party

politics in the country.3

This formulation of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution is completely in line with the policy

of the government over the years. The many years of one-party rule could not be done away

with immediately after the introduction of multi-party politics. All forms of independent

organisation have always been under the strong control of the state. Therefore, all important

interest groups were strictly controlled. These include workers, the youth, parents, peasants

(in their co-operatives) and of course women.2 This right is also guaranteed in European Convention for the protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of 1950 (Article 11); the American Convention on Human Rights of 1969 (Articles 15 and 16); and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights of 1981 (Articles 10 and 11).3 The Constitution and the Political Parties Act, 1992 (Act No. 5 of 1992) prohibit establishment of political parties which are based religion, tribe, race, gender; a party that advocates break-up of the United Republic; advocates or supports use of force or violence and confrontation as a means of attaining political goals; a party that intends to carry out its activities in only one part of the United Republic; and a party that does not exercise internal democracy.

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III. Organisation of Women in Tanzania

(a) Early Women's Organisations

Notwithstanding their numerical strength, women in Tanzania have always failed to organise

themselves in an effective manner. The colonial regime gave women a very marginal role in

the society. Typical of the feudal system represented by the British colonial rulers, the wife of

the Governor was there to promote and support the work of her husband. This was what was

expected of all women in the colony. They should be faithful wives who can learn sewing,

cookery and related disciplines which would assist them in the house. Politics was men's

sphere of influence.

This mentality influenced the few women's organisations established in the country. Notable

ones include the Women's Service League; the Mothers' Union; the Greek Community; the

Asian Women's Association; the African Welfare Association; and the Tanganyika Council

of Women. Somehow, all these organisations did not address women's problems and issues.

Their prime aim was to groom subservient and obedient women who would always respect

and serve their husbands.4

(b) Women in the Independence Struggle

Quite early in the struggle for independence, the Tanganyika African National Union

(TANU) realised that it could do little without the support of female members of the

community. Therefore, just one year after its formation TANU established a women's section

in 1955 under the leadership of Bibi Titi Mohamed.5

The main objectives of this section were:

(i). To mobilise women as well as men to join the party;

(ii). To try and bring them together in the liberation struggle

(iii). To ensure the security of the leaders of TANU; and

(iv). To raise funds through various activities such as dances and fashion shows.

4 See MINISTRY OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, CULTURE, YOUTH AND SPORTS, Situation of Women's in Tanzania, Dar es Salaam: Government Printer, 1988, p. 55.5 GEIGER, Susan, "Tanganyikan Nationalism as `Women's Work': Life Histories, Collective Biography and Changing Historiography," Volume 37 Journal of African History, 1996, p. 465.

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It is the women's section in the party which gave TANU a mass base. Women members were

very active not only in Dar es Salaam but in the regions as well.6 Not all men were happy

about the upper hand women were being given, but the party President was for equality of

both men and women and thus made sure that all sections of the party were given an

opportunity to contribute to the advancement of the party aims and objectives.

(c). Women's Organisation after Independence

After independence, the ruling party TANU decided that all women should be united under

one organisation Umoja wa Wanawake wa Tanganyika (UWT) with the President as its

Patron.7 As a mouthpiece of all women in the country, the main objectives of UWT were set

out in its Constitution as follows:

(i). To unite all women of Tanganyika under one organisation;

(ii). To maintain unity and respect of the nation; to foster the development of women in

respect of economic, political, cultural, educational, and health matters;

(iii). To work jointly with the ruling party and government for all;

(iv) To fight for and maintain respect and justice for women of Tanganyika, Africa, and

the world at large; to collaborate with all women's organisations in the world whose

policies were not in contradiction with the national policies and objectives; and

(v). To maintain mutual relationships with all friendly parties with TANLT in accordance

with the policy of socialism and self-reliance for the benefit of the country regardless

of skin colour, tribe, religion, material well-being or nationality.8

With the merger of Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) and the Afro-Shirazi Party

(ASP) of Zanzibar and the birth of Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CC1V17 in February, 1977, the

women's organisations in the two parties were joined into one strong mass organisation called

Jumuiya ya Wanawake wa Tanzania but retained the abbreviation UWT.

6 For instance, it is reported that in Kilimanjaro several of the most active members of TANU were women including the late Lucy Selina Lameck who was later to occupy various important positions in the post independence government for many years. See SAMOFF, Joel, Tanzania: Local Politics and Structure of Power, Madison, 1974, pp. 182-183.7 In fact the President of the Party ensured that the leader of the national women's organisation was one of the 9 or 10 appointed members of the TANU's Central Committee. Bibi Titi Mohamed was the first beneficiary of this party procedure.8 See the Constitution of the Umoja wa Wanawake wa Tanganyika, 1962.

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The objectives of the new mass organisation were almost like those of the old party. They

were enumerated as follows:

(i). To unite all Tanzanian Women through which the national policy of socialism and

self-reliance and party policies regarding women's liberation could be spread and

interpreted to the Tanzanian women;

(ii). To co-operate and lead all women in various activities concerning family welfare,

development, defence, culture and many others;

(iii). To unite all women mentally and practically under the leadership of the party, to

maintain the policy of socialism and self-reliance;

(iv). To defend and promote equality and dignity of the whole nation;

(v). To liberate all women of Tanzania from oppression and from all traditional beliefs

and values which deny their development and that of the nation as a whole;

(vi). To co-ordinate with other organisations under the party to foster national

development; and

(vii). To maintain a mutual relationship with other African women and the rest of the

world for the common struggle of their liberation and the struggle against imperialism

and all kinds of exploitation.9

We have reproduced at length the objectives of UWT at various phases in order to underline

the point that Umoja wa Wanawake wa Tanganyika (later Tanzania) was in no way an

independent organisation of women, for and by women. It was for all intents and purposes a

branch of the ruling party through which the Government sent its policies to women, and

through them to the rest of the population.10 This method was particularly useful and effective

in the rural areas where the party has a massive following.

UWT was completely controlled. Anything from the organisation to the party or government

had to be approved by the relevant organ. This also included nomination of office bearers in

the organisation. They had to seek and gain the party's blessing before standing and it was the

9 See the Constitution of the Jumuiya ya Wanawake wa Tanzania, 1978.10 This was part of the strategy to ensure that the ruling party had total control over all politics in the country. See MSEKWA, Pius, Towards Party Supremacy, Arusha, 1977 and also the Constitution of the Chama cha Mapinduzi, 1982 Edition.

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party which had the last word.

IV. The Fate of Mass Organisations in the Wake of Multi-Party Politics

As Tanzania was preparing to move into a multi-party political system in 1992 the fate of the

various mass organisations under the party - that is, the Workers, Parents, Co-operatives,

Youth, and Women - became a centre of discussion due to their importance to the party.

Already in 1991 the party had already decided to release two of these mass organisations

from its control. These were the Workers' Organisation and the Co-operative Movement. The

National Executive Committee of the party had directed the government to undertake the

necessary legislative measures to effect these changes.11 However, notwithstanding this green

light from the party, Women's, Youth and Parents' organisations chose to remain under the

party umbrella.

The Presidential Commission on Single Party or Multiparty System in Tanzania12 had earlier

recommended, inter alia, that:

... the state should not interfere with the affairs of mass organisations and

non-governmental organisations. In this regard, the state should respect the right to

freedom of association, the right to form organisations outside the state system, and

even the right to form political parties.13

The state acceded to some of the Commission's recommendations14 and adopted a 'controlled

approach' to change the system. For instance, the state, without involving opposition groups

and other segments of society, would amend the Constitution and other laws whenever it

appeared timely and favourable to the ruling party. This is what has been widely referred to

by constitutional experts as viraka -'patch work'.

The Eighth Amendment to the 1977 Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania's15 did

11 This was done vide the Organisation of Tanzania Trade Unions Act, 1991 (Act No. 20 of 1991); and Co-operative Societies Act, 1991 (Act No. 15 of 1991). See inter alia, MBIRO, V.M., "State Control of Co-operatives Through the Law in Tanzania (Mainland): An Appraisal of Some New Developments on Co-operative Law," Master of Laws Dissertation, University of Dar es Salaam, 1995 (Unpublished).12 See GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA, Report and Recommendations of the Presidential Commission on Single Party or Multiparty System in Tanzania, 1991 on the Democratic System in Tanzania (Book I), Dar es Salaam: Dar es Salaam University Press, 1992. This Commission is popularly known as the "Nyalali Commission" as it was chaired by the Chief Justice of Tanzania Hon. Mr. Justice Francis L. Nyalali.13 Ibid., paragraph 386 at p. 113.14 The major concession by the State was to adopt the Multiparty political system.15 Act No. 4 of 1992.

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away with Articles 3 and 10 on the one-party system and party supremacy respectively.16

Supposedly, in law, all mass organisations which were previously under the control of the

ruling party - C.C.M. - were to be left free, or otherwise in practice political parties could be

formed and in turn establish respective wings. In the case of UWT it decided to remain a

women's wing to the ruling party, as was the case with youths' and parents' organisations. The

newly formed political parties have also formed such wings of their own. The affiliation of

UWT to C.C.M. connotes that UWT has relinquished one of its legitimising and well

established objectives in the mono-party context - that is, 'to unite all Tanzanian Women'.17

There is not much truth in the feeling that the introduction of a multiparty political system has

rendered nugatory the need for women's to join their efforts together for purposes of

protecting and furthering their unique interests. Women in Tanzania have made a timely

discovery of this fact and the evils of the new political development if they were left to exist.

The case in point here is to organise and to associate beyond political parties' ideological fog.

This background is important in order to appreciate why BAWATA was seen as a thorn in

the flesh by the ruling party and its government right from its establishment. The ruling party

could not understand why an organisation existed with such mass following, but outside its

wings. BAWATA had to go - at all costs.

V. BAWATA: Baraza la Wanawake wa Tanzania

The genesis of BAWATA was a four-day national conference organised by the University of

Dar es Salaam on the Position of Women in Multiparty Democracy. This conference which

was held at the University campus between 24th and 27th July was attended by women's

representatives from all over Tanzania, top government officials and leaders of political

parties.18

Issues of a diverse nature were discussed and agreed upon. Of utmost importance was the

consensus reached that:

Problems facing women's in the country and ways of solving them needed no

ideology.19

16 Sections 5 and 7 of Act No. 4 of 1992.17 See the Constitution of Jumuiya ya Wanawake Tanzania (UWT) of 1978.18 See Daily News (Tanzania), 25th July, 1994, p. 1 and Daily News (Tanzania), 27th July, 1994, p. 1.19 Ibid.

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Women indicated in a very clear voice that they were ready to bury their political differences

in order to address a myriad of problems facing them as women.20

Following this consensus, it was resolved that a Women's Council of Tanzania be established

as an autonomous non-governmental organisation. A year later, Baraza la Wanawake

Tanzania (BAWATA) was registered by the Registrar of Societies exercising power under

the Societies Ordinance, 195421 on 16th May, 1995.

BAWATA, as an autonomous non-governmental organisation, could claim independence and

freedom from any political and religious affiliation.22 The objectives of BAWATA were

comprehensively spelt out under Article 4 of its Constitution to include as follows:

(i). the liberation of women from all forms of gender exploitation, oppression,

discrimination and degradation, and to condemn the same;

(ii). to work as an institution or a forum on behalf of all women, through which they will

be able to initiate and further their targets and interests in all aspects of social life;

(iii). to unite all women without regard to their religion, colour, age, creed, status, levels

of education or authority, political parties, ideologies or any other thing so as to

strengthen their efforts in the struggle to protect their rights and equality;

(iv). to mobilise all women for purposes of giving them leadership whereby they will

effectively be participating in the bringing about of economic and social development;

(v). to educate women on their basic rights and duties in society;

(vi). to maintain women's respect;

(vii). to foster women's participation in planning and implementing various national

projects; and

(viii). to follow-up on law reforms, particularly in areas affecting women's activities.23

These objectives, which were serious and well considered, were not well received in the

ruling party and its government. They had to be addressed before they gained ground in 20 See Daily News (Dar es Salaam), 27b' July, 1994.21 Chapter 337 of the Revised Laws of Tanzania Mainland.22 See Constitution of Baraza la Wanawake Tanzania (BAWATA) of 1995.23 Ibid.

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society.

VI. The First Clash with the State: The 1995 General Elections

The birth of BAWATA coincided with the coming of the first multiparty general elections of

October, 1995. All political parties which had chosen to participate in these elections, by

either sponsoring a Presidential or Parliamentary candidate, set out as usual, a women's

agenda in their election manifesto. BAWATA for its part came up with a comprehensive

document on elections. Its goal was to educate women voters and identify and expose

women's major agenda to potential candidates.

The BAWATA document on elections set out the foundation for women's prospects in

Tanzania, as it addressed the burning issues affecting women in the country. The major

focuses relate to women's fundamental rights, and their welfare in particular. These include

the right to own land, to inheritance, and to social services such as health, water, education

etc.

Directly related to the elections, the document gave women's views on the qualities of a

presidential candidate who is likely to sympathise and take the issues of women seriously. In

order to educate women voters, the document went further to expose the position of each

political party on issues related to women.24

It is this document which brought BAWATA into a direct collision course with the state. It

had touched a raw nerve - women and elections. Every sensible state knows that women are

faithful voters. They normally register and actually go to vote - unlike men who talk a lot and

do little, and might even register only to forget to vote on election day. Thus women are

regarded as a safe and sure constituency and whoever controls them is guaranteed victory. By

touching this sensitive area, BAWATA was seen as a mischievous lot.

The clash between BAWATA and the State occurred on 30th June, 1997. On that date, the

government of the United Republic of Tanzania banned Baraza la Wanawake wa Tanzania

(BAWATA). In this letter to BAWATA, the Registrar of Societies, Mr. Bernard Mchomvu,

who is also the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs said inter alia, that:

24 See BARAZA LA WANAWAKE TANZANIA, EU= ya Uraia Kwa Wanawake Wapiga Kura na Agenda ya Wanawake Katika Uchaguzi Mkuu wa Mwaka 1995, Dar es Salaam: BAWATA, July, 1995 (Mimeograph).

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I have this day June 30 cancelled the registration of the society known as Baraza la

Wanawake Tanzania on the ground that it has failed to comply with the provisions of

Societies Ordinance Cap 337 of 1954.25

This was a culmination of a concerted effort by the government to squeeze this autonomous

women's organisation out of existence. Already in June, 1997, in what was more or less an

attempt to follow laid down procedure with predetermined and calculated aim, the

government sent a 21-day notice of intention to deregister BAWATA. Hence, the

cancellation was just a question of time. Commenting on the decision of the government to

cancel the registration of the organisation, the Administrative Officer of BAWATA Ms.

Magdalena Kaihuzi simply said that she did not expect such an action from a serious

government like the Mkapa administration.26

The efforts of the government to tame BAWATA started some time back. Already on 17th

September, 1996 the government decided indirectly to stop all activities of the organisation.

This was announced by the Minister for Community Development, Women and Children,

Ms. Mary Nagu in Morogoro.27

Explaining the government's decision, the then Deputy Minister for Home Affairs Mr.

Emmanuel Mwambulukutu said that BAWATA had been deregistered and should apply

afresh for new registration. Before doing that, it had to amend parts of its Constitution and

hold meetings to elect new office bearers. Elaborating on this decision, Mwambulukutu

explained that BAWATA was operating as a political party and was neither holding meetings

nor submitting its Annual Financial Accounts to the Registrar of Societies as required by the

law. This last point was rebutted by the Embassy of Norway which has been one of the

funding agencies of BAWATA. The Embassy explained that BAWATA has been submitting

its audited statements of accounts always in time.28 The same had been going to the Registrar.

There was no doubt that this was just an attempt to use legal technicalities to fight a political

war. It was aimed at hitting at the autonomy of BAWATA. The ruling party and its

25 For part of this letter see "Govt Deletes Women's Council," Daily News (Tanzania), 2nd July, 1997, p.I.26 On BAWATA de-registration see also "Hatimaye Serkali yaifuta BAWATA," Majira (Tanzania) 2nd July, 1997, p. 1; "Hatimaye BAWATA Yafutwa: Wasema Watakwenda Kortini," Mtanzania (Tanzania), 2nd July, 1997, p. 1; and "BAWATA Scrapped Since Monday: Set to Lodge an Appeal to the Registrar Within 21 Days," The Guardian (Tanzania), 2nd July, 1997, p. 1.27 See "Mwambulukutu Afafanua Hatua ya Serikali: Bawata Iliendesha Shughuli Kisiasa," Uhuru (Tanzania), 7th December, 1996, p. 1.28 Ibid. at p. 5.

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government would have liked to see a less independent and more subservient women's

organisation - the way the Umoja wa Wanawake wa Tanzania (UWT) had been over the

years. This is because women in any society constitute an important political force which

cannot be ignored.

As indicated earlier, this was realised quite early in Tanzania. The mobilisation capacity of

women's leaders for the party during the independence struggle was enormous. Hence, ever

since then, the party has tried to ensure that it had total control over women and their

organisation. It was therefore important to reduce their organisation to an instrument of

control and manipulation of women rather than a true representative of the wishes and

aspirations of the women in the country.

Like the colonial regime, TANU was of the view that women should be taught cooking,

knitting, sewing, basket weaving and other domestic arts - and make them good and obedient

wives! In this way it would be impossible for women to realise their potential. Therefore,

Umoja wa Wanawake wa Tanzania has over the years remained under the total grip of the

ruling party.29 Everything in the organisation is to be sanctioned by the party, including the

election of office bearers.

VIII. The Court of Law as an Arena of Struggle

As indicated earlier in this work, the coming into being of BAWATA as a strong and

autonomous organisation for all women in Tanzania was not well received by all.

Particularly, the ruling party which has been used to having women in the country under its

control. Therefore, during the electioneering for the October, 1995 general elections, leaders

of BAWATA were "warned" several times by the then President of the United Republic Ali

Hassan Mwinyi who at that time was still the Chairman of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi to stop

their involvement in politics.30

Although BAWATA reduced its political engagement following this and other threats from

C.C.M., its establishment clearly heralded a new era on the Tanzanian political scene - an era

in which political parties would no longer take women for granted as Chama Cha Mapinduzi

29 Incidentally this "father figure" attitude of the party is not exercised with regards to the UWT only. Also under close control of the party are all the mass organisations; including the Youth, Parents, Co-operatives, and the Elder's Section. See HERRICK, Allison Butler et al. (eds.), Area Handbook for Tanzania, Washington, D.C.: US Government Printing Office, 1968, p. 221.30 See for instance "BAWATA Waonywa: Acheni Kujihusisha na Siasa - Mwinyi," Uhuru (Dar es Salaam) 19th September, 1995, p. 3.

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and its predecessor TANU had. At the same time, It would seem that the state acknowledged

the fact that women in Tanzania were marginalised and were determined to fight this

marginalisation. That is why when all other ways of entering the National Assembly

indirectly have been constitutionally closed, it is only women who have been granted this

opportunity through the Constitution by reserving special seats for women. These are filled

by political parties on a proportional representation basis depending on their performance in

normal elections.31

Given this situation, it is unfortunate that a government which came into power under the

banner of assisting people by removing things which bother them - kuwaondolea wananchi

vitu vinavyowakera - would now interfere with the right of women to organise themselves

autonomously. To argue that BAWATA is engaging in politics is just to display ignorance.

What is politics? Is it making public speeches? Politics is everyday life. How one earns his

living, whether with medicine in hospitals, teaching is schools, or as a bureaucrat (corrupt or

not), and how much one is paid as wages, what one listens to on the radio or reads in

newspapers, who owns what in the country - all these are political issues. Should BAWATA

keep quiet on these everyday issues and go back to cooking, knitting, running kindergartens?

The government should learn to be tolerant, learn to listen to other points of view and accept

criticism with grace.

The genuineness of BAWATA has also disturbed female bureaucrats and those powerful

women in government,32 in particular the Ministry of Community Development, Women and

Children. After the Beijing Women's Conference in 1995, BAWATA was ready to begin

implementing the various resolutions of that important meeting. The Ministry on the other

hand had no idea where to begin. Its inefficiency became the source of its hatred for the more

efficient BAWATA. It is no wonder that women in government are now floating the idea of

establishing a new bureaucratic organisation from the top to take the place of BAWATA. It is

these women who have been busy behind the scenes pressurising the government to go ahead

and de-register BAWATA so that they can come in and fill the 'vacuum'.33

31 See Articles 66, 78 and 80 of the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania and sections 18 and 25 of Act No. 4 of 1992.32 One commentator notes that: 'The main difference between BAWATA and UWT is that the former is much more concerned about the problems of women's at grassroots level than UWT has ever been. While UWT expressed concern about the welfare of women's in urban centres, BAWATA has concentrated on the bread and butter issues of womenfolk in the village.' See RWEYEMAMU, Robert, "The Women Who Scared the Men of Power," East African (Dar es Salaam/Kampala/Nairobi), 9th-15th June, 1997, p. 9.33 This point is ably argued in "Wazo Binafsi: Bawata, Baraza Jipya na Mizengwe," Alasiri (Tanzania), 30th May, 1997, p. 7.

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To assist in this sinister motive, the Ministry of Home Affairs started with a threat to

de-register BAWATA in 21 days if it does not amend its Constitution within this period. This

was nothing but dirty politics. The Ministry of Home Affairs knew very well that BAWATA

could not call a General Meeting to amend its Constitution within that period. It was therefore

giving a very unreasonable notice to fulfil the conditions for de-registering the organisation.34

Worse still and contrary to what the Minister for Home Affairs Mr. Ali Ameir Mohamed told

the media, the letter written to BAWATA by the Ministry Ref. No. HAC.24/04/B/6 dated 5th

June, 1997 did not in fact give notice of deregistration to BAWATA. Instead it raised new

issues relating to misrepresentation at the time of registration. It said in part:

Please take notice that in the exercise of powers conferred by Section 12 of the

Societies Ordinance (Cap 337), the Registrar of Societies intends to cancel the

registration of Baraza la Wanawake Tanzania (BAWATA) with registration

certificate No. SO. 8408 issued on 16th May, 1995, for reasons that the particulars in

the application for registration of that society were false... "35

Reading this letter, one could clearly see the red warning light. There was no doubt that the

government was totally bent on hitting BAWATA by all means - legally or illegally -

regularly or irregularly. On its side, the BAWATA leadership indicated that it was going to

court if the Ministry dared de-register their organisation. In fact, BAWATA went ahead to

retain the services of a prominent Human Rights and Constitutional lawyer, Prof. Issa G.

Shivji of the Faculty of Law, University of Dar es Salaam to act on its behalf in this matter.36

The issue is therefore in court. In the meantime, Hon. Mr. Justice Chipeta has issued an

injunction against the Government pending the hearing of the full suit.37 Therefore, in the

meantime, BAWATA can continue with its activities without harassment.

IX. Conclusion: The Future of Independent Women's Organisation in Tanzania

It is high time that the ruling party and its government realise that women's organisations led

by wives of government Ministers, Regional Commissioners, District Commissioners and

Principal Secretaries, and could then conform to the wishes of the status quo, are over. The

34 This point is clearly made by the BAWATA Chairperson Prof Anna Tibaijuka. See "BAWATA Already Deregistered - Tibaijuka: Notice Merely Formal," The Guardian (Tanzania), 7th June, 1997, p. 1.35 This letter is reproduced in "BAWATA Already Deregistered - Tibaijuka: Notice Merely Formal," The Guardian (Tanzania), 7th June, 1997, p. 1.36 See "Shivji Kuitetea BAWATA," Majira (Tanzania), 15th June, 1997, p. 1.37 See the ruling in Baraza la Wanawake Tanzania (BA WA TA) and 5 Others v. Registrar of Societies and 2 Others, High Court of Tanzania at Dar es Salaam, Miscellaneous Civil Cause No. 27 of 1997.

15

government should be prepared for a new mode of thinking if this generation is to be

genuinely referred to as Zama za Uwazi na Ukweli - the era of openness and truth.

The government will be cheating itself if it thinks that by de-registering BAWATA it is

hitting at women with the aim of taming them. In fact, it is doing more harm than that. It is

hitting at democracy in this country. By invoking a colonial ordinance - with no conscience -

it is curtailing the cardinal right to organise which is guaranteed under Article 20 of the

Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977.

16

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