Salma Maoulidi

As Zanzibar gears up for a rerun of presidential, legislative and local councils elections that were annulled in October 2015, I can’t help but react to comments attributed to the Regional Commissioner (RC) of Mwanza, Magessa Mulongo on March 8 while commemorating International Women’s Day.

On October 25, 2015 Tanzania went to the polls to elect a new president and representatives as mandated by the Constitution.

There are over 750 million Muslim women in the world and the question that often crops up is who speaks for them? Who leads them?

Let us begin with the horrific maritime tragedy off the cost of Nungwi this weekend. Over 200 people have thus far been confirmed dead and many more are believed to be trapped in the sunken ship.

May 25 is Africa Day. Why should this matter to me, an African woman?

On 12 January 2011 Zanzibar marked 47 years since the 1964 revolution. Historically, this day is given more prominence in Zanzibar’s political circles than 10 December 1963 when Zanzibar obtained its independence chiefly because it ushered in majority rule.

Tanzania has been trying to come to terms with its dismal election performance in respect to the quantity of women elected to decision-making positions, particularly to elected bodies like parliament, either through direct elections at the constituency level or via appointments to special seats.

The SADC Protocol on Gender and Development requires gender parity in political decision-making by 2015. In different African countries this has led to the launch of the 50-50 Campaigns, mostly by women’s rights activists.

A decade after marking the 21st century, and 15 years after embracing multipartism, Tanzania is once again gripped by election fever. The 2010 general elections, scheduled for 31 October 2010, mark a pivotal time in the country’s history.

This September the global community will be preoccupied with the status of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as countries embark on the last stretch within which key targets under the eight goals must be achieved i.e. by 2015.