Men's Perspective on Women's Empowerment in Babati District, Tanzania

Abstract: This study aims to define men’s perspective on women’s agency and entrepreneurship, and the gender changing roles within the household in Babati district, Tanzania. Women’s empowerment is a notion recently put into practice in several African states today. The notion has transpired from women’s collective ability to organize, act and demand in patriarchal societies in recent decades, resulting in their increased influential and politicized roles. This has further led to constitutional law amendments in Tanzania as well as the establishment of local microfinance institutions, promoting women’s social mobilization. The study is based on semi-structured interviews and secondary sources. The interviews include local men from Babati district, whose wives are active in organizations and/or own a business, as well as a Social Welfare Officer from Babati Development Town Council. The theoretical framework is mainly composed of literature focusing on African pre-colonial gender roles and stereotypical ideas of gender that have affected how gender roles are perceived today. The results emerged as generally positive attitudes towards women’s empowerment. Most men stated that women have ascertained a position of increased influence both within and outside the household in the past decade. However, the positive results have been interpreted through different aspects. Unemployment is discussed as a large societal issue in Babati district, and most men interviewed were unemployed, which could have affected the results and perceptions of women’s social roles. Additionally, this disempowers the traditional role of men as head of the household, also interpreted as a consequence due to women’s empowerment.