In my first trip to Newala in the South East of Tanzania, I discovered women’s rights were more of an ideal than a reality and that, to a large extent, the media was to blame.
Town of Newala in south-eastern Tanzania
I arrived in Newala in the afternoon after travelling on the rough road for eight hours from Mtwara. This was my first trip to Newala and I had come to gain a picture of what life was like for women here. The town had felt the negative effects of the nearby Mozambique – Zimbabwe war for independence and the subsequent Mozambique civil war which only recently ended. Women in particular suffered greatly as a result of this conflict.
I met a woman called Angelina Filipo Sijaona and talked to her about women’s struggle for equality in the area. She told me that traditionally women experienced higher rates of injury, sexual and domestic violence, displacement and poverty. They also bore a disproportionate responsibility to care for others. Not only did women cook for their families but also sowed, reaped and harvested food and walked long distances to collect water and firewood.
