“No matter what obstacle you face, you push.” - Honorable Neema Lugangira, Member of Parliament (MP) and Chair of the Women in Politics Parliamentary Group, United Republic of Tanzania

Earlier this month, in celebration of International Women’s Day, the National Democratic Institute premiered an interview we conducted with one of our partners, Honorable Neema Lugangira, a champion of legal reform and women’s empowerment in Tanzania. Hon. Lugangira has served as a Member of Parliament (MP) in Tanzania since 2020 and is Chair of the Women in Politics (WiP) parliamentary group that NDI conducts joint advocacy with on women’s issues. She is the founder of Omuka Hub, a non-governmental organization, and one of NDI’s legal reform advocacy partners who works to accelerate digital inclusion in Tanzania. Through Omuka Hub, Hon. Lugangira has championed access to digital resources in underserved areas and strengthened the online visibility of women in politics. As a parliamentarian with an extensive background in policy advocacy and legislative reform, she has prioritized promoting gender equality in politics in Tanzania and across Africa. In 2024, Hon. Lugangira, together with the WiP group, played a pivotal role in advocating for the adoption of inclusive amendments to three electoral laws. Her work with WiP has resulted in new protections within Tanzanian elections law that penalize Violence Against Women in Elections (VAW-E), making Tanzania the first country in the African continent to do so. We sat down with Hon. Lugangira to discuss this change, her insights into the legal reform process, and what this means for women in Tanzania.

“To get to where Tanzania is at the moment [you need to] first understand your landscape. You need to have a thorough review of your existing laws… and where Tanzania is at the moment.” - Honorable Neema Lugangira

Despite constituting half of the population as of the 2022 Census, women in Tanzania are significantly underrepresented in public office and political party leadership at both the local and national levels. In 2020, only 26 women were elected to parliament out of 264 seats, and women comprised only nine percent of candidates for president, parliament, and councilorships.

“A comfortable excuse that many political parties tend to use is that ‘women are not there; that women don’t come forward to vie [for elected seats] in parliament’... One of the strongest hindrances to women going for elected seats is the gender-based violence that is subjected to women during elections… It has almost been accepted that as a woman in politics, you should have thick skin to accept everything that is thrown at you.”  - Hon. Neema Lugangira

Hon. Lugangira recounted that the more she used her voice online, the more abuse she was subjected to. This pattern, she noted, forces women in leadership to self-censor and limit their presence online. 

“There needs to be a targeted mission to ensure that women come forward. That women continue to vie [for elected positions].” - Hon. Neema Lugangira

NDI has worked with the WiP group and organizations like Omuka Hub for years to advocate for and build consensus around electoral reform and legal amendments to facilitate the political inclusion of women. The Institute has been able to facilitate engagements that have given partners the opportunity to continuously refine reform recommendations, which have been taken up by champions in parliament and government agencies. One of these pivotal engagements was the Women in Politics Forum held in Bukoba last October which convened representatives from diverse backgrounds, including civil society organizations, women and youth groups, faith-based leaders, and regional and ward leaders. The forum allowed these groups to build consensus on specific reform priorities for amending gender inclusion policies that are currently vague, non-binding, and hard to enforce. They developed recommendations for legislators, which include creating mechanisms to tackle VAW-P, creating a gender desk in political parties to recognize and address VAW-P complaints, and redefining unspecified roles and responsibilities that minimize the authority of special seats MPs reserved specifically for women (these seats make up almost 30 percent of total seats in parliament). 

In the interview, Hon. Lugangira noted the importance of building partnerships and engaging with political parties and government agencies to obtain issue alignment and buy-in on legal reforms among MPs and partners.  

“You need to consult and get the political parties’ perspective [and]... understanding so that you know you’re pushing towards the right direction.” - Hon. Neema Lugangira

Over the last few months, NDI has facilitated opportunities for the WiP group to engage with key stakeholders, such as the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP), a government agency tasked with the implementation of the Political Parties Act (PPA). The ORPP governs the registration and management of political parties. Engagements NDI has facilitated with the ORPP have allowed representatives from this agency to participate in implementation discussions and include recommendations from events such as the Women in Politics forum to be presented in their proposed amendments to the Political Parties Act.

In February 2024, amendments that included key recommendations from NDI partners passed through the Tanzanian legislature. VAW-E is now listed as an electoral offense with codified consequences, political parties are mandated to have social inclusion policies on gender and disability issues, and all political parties are required to have gender desks to process complaints on VAW-P. Although not all the recommendations were adopted into law, this marks a step towards addressing the barriers women face in political parties and in elections.

“What we did that helped us was… to understand the current laws that are governing elections and political parties… and then using our own experience to navigate and [see] ‘okay, maybe this can change,’ so that even by the time you’re approaching a partner, you already have an idea of what is missing… and how the partner can support to enrich that.”  - Hon. Neema Lugangira

This sentiment provides insight into how NDI has worked collaboratively with CSOs and champions in parliament to build consensus on women’s issues and drive advocacy for legal reform.

“Generally, we tend to have a perception that when a donor or international organization is providing support to a country, it is prescriptive… and comes to members of parliament with a prescribed solution… To the contrary, our relationship and partnership with NDI is the complete opposite… [NDI was] responding to our needs rather than telling us what we need, which was enriching. I think that is why we were able to get the consensus… within our group.” - Hon. Neema Lugangira

Our full interview with Hon. Lugangira can be found here.

NDI will continue to work alongside Tanzanian champions for change and continue making steps towards the inclusion of women in political and electoral processes in Tanzania.

Author: Ferehiwot Mulugeta, Program Associate on the Southern and East Africa team

NDI's engagement with this program is implemented with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS).

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Women in Tanzania Striding Towards Reform

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NDI is a non-profit, non-partisan, non-governmental organization that works in partnership around the world to strengthen and safeguard democratic institutions, processes, norms and values to secure a better quality of life for all. NDI envisions a world where democracy and freedom prevail, with dignity for all.