Dar es Salaam, Tanzania , A new impact report by the Imara Leadership Initiative, under the Women and Youth in Democracy (WYDE) Accountability Hubs project, has highlighted urgent calls for stronger participation of women and youth in Tanzania’s political and civic life.
The report, launched with support from the Kofi Annan Foundation, The Oslo Center, the European Partnership for Democracy, and the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, documents efforts to close the gap between policy and practice in democratic inclusion. Despite making up more than 70% of Tanzania’s population, youth under 30 remain underrepresented in leadership. Women, who comprise half of the population, account for less than 10% of parliamentary seats.
The 2020 elections underscored these disparities: only 26 women won out of 264 parliamentary seats, while young candidates faced limited opportunities to contest or influence decision-making. The WYDE initiative aims to address these gaps through civic education, mentorship, and advocacy.
Key findings from the report reveal that misinformation, hate speech, and gender-based violence are among the biggest obstacles to youth and women’s political engagement. Online webinars and learning sessions—reaching over 250 participants across Tanzania, Zanzibar, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Namibia, and beyond—focused on media literacy, ending political hate speech, and preparing women and youth to engage ahead of the 2024 local government and 2025 general elections.
“Half of Tanzania’s population is youth. It is critical for young people to aim for at least 50% representation among candidates,” said Jokate Urban Mwegelo, Secretary General of the CCM Youth Wing. Others emphasized the need to curb hate speech and gender-based violence, which continue to silence women in politics.
The report recommends strengthening digital literacy, fact-checking platforms, gender-sensitive political practices, and mentorship programs for young leaders. It also calls for political parties and government institutions to create safe spaces and enforce accountability mechanisms to support inclusivity.
With Tanzania approaching critical elections, the findings underline that empowering youth and women is not only a question of fairness, but also a foundation for democratic resilience and national development.
About Imara Leadership Initiative (ILI):
Imara Leadership Initiative is dedicated to building ethical, accountable, and transformative leaders in Tanzania and across Africa by focusing on youth empowerment, leadership training, and democratic engagement, ILI plays a vital role in shaping a new generation of leaders who are prepared to address the challenges of governance and development.
For partnerships and inquiries information please contact us via Ms. Sarah Masuma | Programmes Lead E-mail: info@imaraleadership.org
