Publication Date
Fall 2024
Abstract
Traditional gender roles have existed in Tanzania for centuries and are only now beginning to change as the country becomes increasingly globalized and more immersed in the global scene. Many studies in Tanzania focus on the lived experiences of women and women’s equality from an outsider’s perspective. Few focus on the general population’s perception of the state of gender roles and how they are changing. The city of Dar Es Salaam is uniquely exposed to external influences, being a large commercial city growing more rapidly than most cities in Africa. By using a questionnaire and the general population of Dar Es Salaam, this study aims to collect people’s attitudes and beliefs towards changing female gender roles to fill the knowledge gap of how residents view gender and globalization. The data was collected for one week in November 2024. Data was analyzed by identifying trends found in the data, as well as chi-square tests to determine the statistical significance of demographic variables on responses to the questionnaire. Findings revealed that most participants believe that gender roles should exist and are open to change. Most participants agreed that gender roles have changed in the past ten years, and many traditional designated roles have shifted to be responsibilities for both genders. In addition, most participants agree that while the father is the family's main provider, both mother and father should have equal roles in parenting. While gender roles should continue to exist, most participants believed that women are capable of holding any job in Tanzania, including those commonly held by men. Additionally, women should be empowered by education to achieve their career goals. Lastly, most participants answered that Tanzanian society should work to promote changing female gender roles, an important declaration for making change. It is recommended that comparative studies be conducted in other regions of the country to understand where perceptions differ and studies conducted over time to measure trends in response to current events. Global context provides an important background to one’s perception of gender.
Disciplines
Arts and Humanities | Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Recommended Citation
Rice, Samantha, "Gender in Tanzania: People’s perceptions on changing female gender roles in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania" (2024). Tanzania: Wildlife Conservation and Political Ecology. 1.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/tze2/1