Here are 10 influential women in Tanzania

By Jumia Travel Tanzania

Every year on March 8, the world celebrates the International Women’s Day in which there are series of activities conducted by several organizations and private entities to culminate the day. The United Nations (UN) usually commemorates this day annually by having a theme campaign, for instance this year’s goes by, “Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030.”    

Unlike before, these days women around the world have changed and are using this day effectively to raise issues which matter to them. To acknowledge this day, Jumia Travel has come up with 10 names of women who are very influential in Tanzania due to the various activities they are engaged in.

Mama Samia Suluhu

When speaking of women who climbed the ladder to the top political positions in Tanzania, that list will be incomplete without mentioning Samia Suluhu Hassan. She is the first woman to become the Vice President of the United Republic of Tanzania after being elected following the general election in 2015, which marked H.E. President John Pombe Magufuli’s regime. Tanzania as other African countries, is still facing the challenge of having fewer women representation in various leadership positions. But Mama Samia Suluhu is a proof that when empowered, women can seize opportunities and hold leadership posts.

Maria Sarungi Tsehai

Among the few women who are determined to see the Tanzanian community step up is Maria Sarungi Tsehai. Time and space wouldn’t be enough to tell who Maria is, but in brief, she is a communications expert by profession. Apart from various activities she is engaged in, her name came to the spotlight following her appointment by former President of Tanzania, Dr. Jakaya Kikwete to be a member of Parliament in 2014. Among the reasons for her appointment was her initiative to start engaging chatroom through social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter by the #ChangeTanzania. The chatroom went viral to the extent that over 50,000 people took part in discussing various issues crucial to majority of Tanzanians.     

Dr. Helen Kijo Bisimba

For quite sometime Dr. Bisimba has been on the law industry in which she devoted herself to provide assistance and advice on various issues which by one way or another do not consider the rule of law. Currently, she is the Executive Director for Legal and Human Rights Center (LHRC) in Tanzania, a position she has held for over two decades now. Dr. Helen Bisimba who is a lawyer by profession, has been an activist for legal and human rights for a long time and an inspiration to many. Through LHRC’s activities, she has been upfront fighting for poor people who are unknowledgeable and cannot afford law assistance across the country and most importantly, giving out statements on issues which might deteriorate the rule of law.  

Faraja Nyalandu

Most Tanzanians came to know Faraja Nyalandu after she was crowned Miss Tanzania in 2004. But during that time she was known as Faraja Kota before she was married to former Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism and current Member of Parliament representing North Singida constituency, Hon. Lazaro Nyalandu. Faraja is a social entrepreneur who has focused on enhancing easy accessibility to education services for children and youth. After discovering various challenges facing her community in accessing education, she came up with two educational programmes namely ‘Makini SMS and Shule Direct.’ These two programmes help students to acquire notes as well as participate in Quiz questions and an ability to interact with their teachers directly. This has helped beat challenges such as shortage of teachers, books, learning and teaching material through the use of mobile phone programs and internet.

Jokate Mwegelo

Jokate Mwegelo is not a new name among Tanzanians, as she stepped to the spotlight after emerging the second runner-up in Miss Tanzania competition back in 2006. Apart from fashion and modelling, Jokate is engaging herself with various activities such as beauty, music, entrepreneurship, TV and events hosting, actress as well as education activism. She has been an inspiration to most young girls and upcoming models and fashion designers due to huge success she has achieved. So far she has managed to establish her own company dealing with beauty and fashion known by the name of ‘Kidoti.’ Apart from that she has indulged herself in improving education services and other issues through a campaign dubbed ‘Be Kidotified.’ Through that campaign she has already built and handed over netball and basketball grounds to Jangwani Girls Secondary School in Dar es Salaam.

Doris Mollel

Her name came to be known by most Tanzanians after she was crowned Miss Singida in 2014. The following year 2015 on February she established Doris Mollel Foundation (DMF) with the aim of promoting public awareness of premature babies. Apart from generating public awareness, DMF also is collecting funds to finance parents who have faced that problem. She has also devoted herself to educate the community on this issue as researchers show that there is poor number of premature babies taken to health centers after being born.       

Mercy Kitomary

She is the Chief Executive Officer of Nelwa’s Gelato, ice cream firm making in Tanzania, an idea she got when she was studying in London, United Kingdom. That idea sparked in her head when she saw a lot of ice cream parlours in different streets of London and thought she could introduce the same thing in her country. For sure, she has accomplished that dream and went extra miles by offering trainings to her Tanzanian counterparts and inspires more to learn and employ themselves as the easiest way to do so. Her company uses exotic African fruits, spice and nuts to produce ice cream, something which has extended more opportunities to farmers as well.    

Joyce Kiria

The increase of television stations has come along with the introduction of production of various programmes with different content. Joyce Kiria is among the few female TV personalities with a lot of viewers across the country. Her TV program, ‘Wanawake Live’ aired on East African TV (EATV) has become famous throughout the country as it came up with hot topics which undermine and liberate women. The program also has become a good source for revealing challenges facing women and being offered assistance from various institutions, individuals as well as the government.  

Wakonta Kapunda

The sad story of this young girl touched a lot of Tanzanians across the country in 2016. Wakonta Kapunda’s life changed abruptly after being engaged in a fatal car accident driven by her fellow student during her graduation after Completing Advanced Secondary Education in Korogwe, Tanga region, in 2012. That accident paralysed Wakonta’s whole body and forced her to do all activities by using her head only. What impressed many people is her spirit of not despairing easily by taking part in script writing competition organised by a film company in Uganda. By using her tongue in writing on her tablet, she managed to be chosen to advance in first stage. She decided to come out to public seeking for help from good samaritans to finance her trip to attend 10 days training in Zanzibar Islands which costed around Tanzanian shillings 4 million. She is perceived as a heroine for not letting her condition hold her down from accomplishing the goals she set. Many people and organisations were touched by her story and helped her out to achieve her dream.      

Lady Jay Dee  

The Queen of bongo flava music since the early 2000s, Lady Jay Dee is the only female artist to be on top-flight form for those whole years she has been doing music in Tanzania. Apart from the personal difficulties she has been facing in the past few years, she stood up and assured her fans that she still got the game. And that was obvious after releasing her hit-song ‘Ndi Ndi Ndi’ which summed up all the things she has been through, and within a short time she became Tanzanians’ sweet heart again. Through that song she managed to perform all over the country and win numerous awards. Lady Jay Dee gave out a lesson to many women who despair and never arise during the difficulties thrown on their faces. To most Tanzanians she will still remain the most successful and influential female artist the country has ever blessed with and an inspiration to many young ones to start their career in music.    

There are a lot of courageous women working inexhaustibly to liberate their fellows and community at large which Jumia Travel cannot mention all of them in this article. But from those few above, it is obvious that women can do wonders  and sometimes go more extra miles. And we believe it will reach a point that people’s performance will never be judged based on their genders as the UN’s this year International Women’s Day slogan says, “Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030.”