Beyond Women Empowerment - Exploring Perceptions of Women Empowerment among Women and Men in Ukerewe, Tanzania

Abstract: This thesis is a qualitative case study regarding women empowerment, conducted during a two-month Minor Field Study in the island of Ukerewe, located in Lake Victoria, Tanzania. I aim to explore the term women empowerment through a critical lens whereby I problematize the instrumental understanding of women empowerment. Furthermore, I aim to explore people’s conceptions of the actual meaning of empowerment and I herein focus on driving and restraining forces as well as the potential paths to reach women empowerment. The methods employed are open-ended in-depth interviews, focus group discussion and participant observations. The data is analyzed departing from Naila Kabeer’s theories of processual women empowerment as in the ability of making active choices depending on agency, resources and achievements. The conclusion drawn from this is that the most constructive and transformative pathways of women empowerment are qualitative aspects such as courage, self-confidence, participation of both sexes as well as social processes of changing traditional culture. My study will be a modest contribution to expanding and developing the concept of women empowerment in the Tanzanian context.