The Role of Women in Water Resources Management: The Tanzania Case

The case of Tanzania regarding the role of women in various aspects of water resources management is typical of many other African countries having a similar cultural background. In most African communities culture dictates that women are subordinates to men and, hence, are socially marginalized to the domestic chores which, though directly related to the use of water, give them no room for decision making on how to utilize this resource. The various decision making levels related to water resources management in Tanzania depict a conspicuous gender imbalance which is a product of a strong cultural background biased against women. This negative male attitude in Tanzania has seriously undermined the developmentpotential of most women who also engage themselves in non-domestic economic ventures at an entrepreneurial level. Through various approaches, the government is now uprooting the main sources of this socially negative situation in Tanzania.