Zanzibar's Second Vice President, Ambassador Seif Ali Iddi
He outlined that one way of doing so should be increasing their number in colleges and institutions of higher learning.
Ambassador Iddi stressed that the government’s commitment was aimed
at providing women with educational loans and introducing different
programmes that would enable them to improve their academic
achievements.
The Second Vice President made the remarks yesterday during the
commemoration of World Women’s Day at the Eastern African Centre for
Research on Oral Traditions and African National Languages (Eacrotanal)
grounds.
He said according to the 2012 census, it was estimated that nearly
52 per cent of women in Zanzibar were responsible for taking care of
their families despite lack of sufficient education.
The Second Vice President urged institutions dealing with women
issues to increase efforts in empowering them economically, a situating
which would assist them to take care of their families and also spur
national growth.
He also called for fast-tracking work on the challenges facing women to empower them so that they can own resources.
He said experience had shown that majority of women did not get the
opportunity to own assets due to the patriarchal system that was
embedded within the society, which led to scant awareness in recognising
their rights.
“Zanzibar will continue to put efforts on developing, drafting
strategies and looking for opportunities that will enable empowerment of
women economically,” he assured.
The Second Vice President said the establishment of different
institutions in the isles was aimed at encouraging and empowering women
in various fields including entrepreneurship, leadership, decision
making and access to capital.
Speaking on sexual abuse against women and children, the Second
Vice President said the government was determined to fight the vice.
He said mutual cooperation between institutions and society in
general was needed to end such violence. There must be a strategic way
to increase women’s awareness and capacity building to realise their
contribution to our communities, he said.
Reading a speech before the Second Vice President, Hadia Mohammed
Ramadhan expressed dismay on how law enforcement executes their duties
disrespectfully especially when dealing with women issues.
“We are not satisfied with how law enforcers deal with our
problems, the safety of women and children is at stake due to excessive
acts of sexual violence which have continued unabated,” she said.
