Women Participation in Decentralised Local Governance: A Case of Pastoral Women in Kondoa, Tanzania

Abstract

The overriding literature on women’s participation in governance in Tanzania explain the dynamics of women’s participation in decision  making quantitatively thus presenting a gap of in-depth qualitative information of the same. The literature also treats women  homogeneously while in fact they are heterogeneous, and some like pastoral women, require specific analysis to capture their unique  character. These shortcomings intrigued the research that informed this article. The article fundamentally argues that the dynamics of  pastoral women’s participation in governance are complex as issues such as norms and values, power relations and incentives provide  restrictions and/or compel them to participate in governance; and at the same time define how they participate. It is against this  backdrop that this article suggests an eclectic approach taking on board substantive and descriptive forces to explain and guarantee  pastoral women’s participation in decentralised local governance. The article results from a qualitative study conducted in Kondoa  employing interviews, focus group discussions and participatory observation research tools.