Women’s Economic Empowerment Forums in Tanzania Fuel Women's Participation in Local Government Leadership

In a local government office in Pwani, two women leaders, Chiku Abdallah and Margreth Gumba, exude strength and poise as they confidently share their inspiring journeys of resilience and determination. Their path to leadership was not easy, but undeniably inspiring.

Abdalla, 47, and Gumba, 50, have both been farmers and entrepreneurs for many years. 

“Life made me start doing business,” Gumba recalls. “My husband was a prison guard, and it was hard to make ends meet on one income, so I started selling the produce I cultivated on our small farm and selling mandazi (doughnuts). Little by little, my businesses grew.”

A critical turning point for them came in 2023 when the Government of Tanzania launched Women’s Economic Empowerment Forums—platforms for networking, knowledge exchange, and leadership development for women’s socio-economic growth.

In the same year, both Abdalla and Gumba joined the platform in their ward, Ubena, located in the Pwani (Coastal) region of Tanzania, approximately an hour from Tanzania’s commercial capital, Dar es Salaam.

 The forums have played a key role in boosting women's financial inclusion, connecting thousands of women in their wards to financial institutions and government-issued loans. As a result, every forum member now has a bank account.

"At first, many women were skeptical about joining the forums because they didn’t understand how it could benefit them, but we’re grateful we have more than 175 women in Ubena and surrounding areas," says Abdalla.

With over two million residents, agriculture is the backbone of Pwani’s economy, sustaining 80 percent of the population. For most women, independently generating an income outside the home remains challenging. Only 10 percent of women own land, a significant barrier to securing capital for entrepreneurial activities.

"Farming is a gamble. If the rains are good, we enjoy a good harvest, but in bad years, there’s food scarcity, and women and children suffer most," says Gumba.

Historically, women's participation in leadership and contributing to critical decisions regarding resources and services that directly impact them has been limited. In the 2020 elections, only 9% of local council candidates were women.

"Without representation, our issues go unheard. You often have one or two women among 25 men in village meetings. When they speak, their voices are lost because they are outnumbered,” says Abdalla. “We need more women in leadership to advocate for our needs."

In 2024, UN Women, in partnership with the Pwani region, began providing capacity-building support to Women’s Economic Empowerment Forums members in Chalinze, Kibaha, and Kisarawe Districts. This training, part of an ongoing project on Strengthening Women’s and Girls’ Leadership and Economic Rights at the Local Level (WLER) supported by Finland, equips them with the confidence and skills to pursue leadership roles, lead effectively, advocate for their economic rights, and exercise those rights. 

WLER Project Manager Erasmina Massawe explains that these forums are key platforms for cultivating leadership, advancing economic empowerment, and addressing issues like gender-based violence.

“Without decision-making power, women struggle to influence policies and resources that affect their livelihoods. At the same time, without economic empowerment, they face significant barriers to pursuing elected leadership roles in local government,” says Massawe. “By supporting the economic forums, we are able to not only provide women with business development support but also expand the pool of women leaders, ensuring they have a voice in the development of their communities."

Over 150 women members of economic forums in Abdalla and Gumba’s district have benefitted from the training, with over 2,000 women trained on transformational leadership across various regions the WLER project operates in across Tanzania.

Women have since started businesses, become more active in local government meetings, and are rallying behind female candidates. "We agreed that if any of our members choose to run, we will make sure she doesn’t fail and do everything in our power to support her," says Abdallah.

Training beneficiaries also share the new knowledge they gained to sensitize other members of the economic empowerment forums at district, ward, and street levels. 

"We use our regular meetings as opportunities to motivate the women in our forums," Abdallah shares, "telling them that it’s time to rise, stand strong, and recognize that we are human beings with the same rights as men.”

These efforts are already yielding results. In the 2024 local government elections, the number of women Hamlet Chairs in WLER-supported areas of the Pwani region tripled from 21 to 61. Women elected as village representatives rose by 62%, from 18 to 29.

Gumba and Abdallah have also made strides in leadership. Gumba was elected as the Ubena Ward Secretary for her political party. At the same time, Abdallah, who says she also used to hesitate to speak up in meetings, successfully ran for and was elected Hamlet Chair, leading governance and development initiatives.

"I was nervous to run, but the women in my forum supported me," says Gumba. "Now, we’re working to ensure even more women contest for district and ward councilor positions in the 2025 General Elections."

The platforms also help women connect, collaborate, and launch businesses together. Some of these ventures receive support to access interest-free loans from local government authorities.

The women look forward to intensifying their efforts to increase women’s representation. 

"I assure you that by the end of this year, you’ll see a significant rise in the number of women in leadership," says Abdallah, who remains committed to helping women recognize and realize their rights. "This is my passion, and I will continue advocating in my community until we see an end to all forms of discrimination against women.”