Tanzania

Tanzania, a sub-Saharan, east African country, has a total population of 41 million. Women make up roughly 52 percent of the population and have an average life expectancy of 53 years of age. The acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic in Tanzania affects life expectancy and infant mortality, resulting in lower population growth.

Women account for 80 percent of the labor in rural areas and 60 percent of the food production, yet 60 percent of women live in poverty. Women farm small plots, sell produce, and provide the basic needs (food, clothing, and medical care) for their families. However, rural African women rarely have rights to their husband's income and are often expected to pay for incidentals (such as children's school fees and uniforms) on their own.

Many women do not have reproductive rights (i.e., decision making with regard to family planning and birth control). Women also often have migrant spouses who form second families and return home infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Domestic violence between intimate partners is also a primary concern among many African-ethnic women and has been shown to have a correlation with lower rates of education among women.

Women have limited access to education, and this accessibility is often determined by where they live (rural versus urban areas), their socioeconomic status (rich versus poor), and the effect of speaking standardized versus unofficial languages, resulting in a 62 percent literacy rate for women.

Often when girls have accessibility to education, family instances of HIV/AIDS may require them to stay home and care for their ailing parents or siblings, work to offset family debt and provide income for sustenance, or divert funds to medical bills resulting from the disease. In addition, girls are shown to be three times more likely to contract HIV and are more often coerced into engaging in sexual intercourse with older men-oftentimes teachers. Teenage pregnancy among girls is also a factor of inequality, as well as discrimination and harassment. In some instances, girls are expelled from school if they are pregnant. In other circumstances, it has been reported that girls are seen as a barrier to education or as a distraction.

Advances in Tanzanian education include practices to expand opportunities for women in primary and secondary schools.