TANZANIA'S NOMINATION FOR 2010 INT'L WOMEN OF COURAGE AWARD

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DAR ES SALAAM 000846 SIPDIS STATE FOR S/GWI, AF/PD, AF/E E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL KWMN PHUM PGOV KPAO TZ SUBJECT: TANZANIA'S NOMINATION FOR 2010 INT'L WOMEN OF COURAGE AWARD REF: STATE 111471 ¶1. U.S. Mission Dar es Salaam nominates Ananilea Nkya for the 2010 Secretary's Award for International Women of Courage for her tireless efforts to promote equality, opportunity, and justice for Tanzanian women and girls. Advocating for Women's Human Rights -------------- ¶2. Through the Tanzanian Media Women's Association (TAMWA),of which she was a founding member in 1987 and has been executive director since 2001, Mrs. Ananilea Nkya ("NN-kya") has been a leading advocate for women's advancement through awareness raising and judicial reform for over 20 years. Though Nkya and her colleagues initially faced great obstacles to establish TAMWA, the organization has given Tanzanian women a voice and transformed Tanzania's media environment, ensuring wide coverage of women's issues and a professional media corps with many qualified female journalists. Using a technique called "bang" journalism, Nkya garnered media attention for key issues affecting women through coordinated media reporting campaigns. ¶3. Among the most important judicial reforms Nkya championed from 2002-2005 was a through a media campaign calling for the repeal of a Zanzibari "Spinsters, Widows, and Female Divorcees Protection Act No 4 of 1985" that criminalized out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Risking threats of death from those opposed to such reform on the 97 percent Muslim isles, Nkya pushed ahead with civic education and encouraged continued reporting by TAMWA members, which eventually resulted in the repeal of the law. ¶4. Over the past six years, Nkya has also lobbied Tanzania's government for an amendment to the Law of Marriage Act, which currently allows girls younger than 18 to marry and in essence allows forced marriages of underage girls against their will. As a result of her efforts, the government is presently drafting a white paper, the first step toward an amendment to the law. Nkya also led a media campaign against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM),still widely practiced among certain Tanzanian tribes. The continued anti-FGM media campaign is now sustained by journalists who do not even belong to TAMWA. Her work helped secure passage of the Sexual Offence Special Provision Act in 1998 which criminalized FGM and increased the punishment of rapists to 30 years in jail and provided a life sentence for gang rape and raping minors. ¶5. Nkya has implemented civic education to provoke public debate about the caliber of Tanzanian leaders and to encourage voters to make thoughtful choices at the polls, emphasizing the importance of electing responsible, uncorrupt leaders. During the recent local government elections, she was aggressive in her efforts to encourage women to carefully consider electing competent leaders. As a result, she faced threats and even a public berating from a high-level elected leader. Her response? "If you are good leader than why are you threatened by civic education? It is better (for me) to die doing something I believe in than to leave the country to go to rubbish." These actions directly support our MSP goal to "Govern Justly and Democratically," especially in advance of the 2010 general elections. ¶6. In 2009, Nkya led a TAMWA campaign aimed at reducing the female school dropout rate due to unplanned pregnancy. In mainland Tanzania, girls are not allowed back in school after having a child, yet they face pressure from teachers and other adults in the community to engage in sexual relations. The campaign "SIDANDANYIKA" (I cannot be cheated) aims at empowering impoverished girl children to say no to sexual temptations or offers of financial support in exchange for sex, and has become a household phrase for many Tanzanians. ¶7. Nkya, a Commissioner for the National Tanzania AIDS Commission, has led TAMWA in media advocacy work on HIV and AIDS, especially in raising awareness of the need to provide Post Exposure Prophylaxis to survivors of rape. Preventing, Treating, and Caring for those with HIV through "Strengthening Health Outcomes" is a key mission goal. Advocating for Women's Advancement -------------- ¶8. In 2005, Nkya initiated a revolving scholarship fund with international donor support that has provided scholarships to 12 TAMWA members for bachelor's degrees in journalism. She also has championed a TAMWA project that provides a one-year exchange program in journalism to neighboring East African countries and Norway. Additionally, since 2003, Nkya has implemented activities to train women politicians and aspiring politicians to use media more effectively for political campaigns. As a result, the number of women vying for political office has increased seven-fold since 2000, and women have received a greater role in decision-making at all levels. These actions support our MSP goals to "Improve the DAR ES SAL 00000846 002 OF 002 Quality of Education" and "Promote Economic Growth and Prosperity." ¶9. Post has not yet informed Mrs. Nkya of this nomination, but believes she would willingly accept the award and would be available to travel in March 2010. Full name: Ananilea Nkya; Job Title: Executive Director, Tanzania Media Women's Association (TAMWA); Date of Birth: 14 August 1958; Citizenship: Tanzanian; Address: P.O. Box 24552, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; E-mail: ananilea_nkya@yahoo.com; Languages: English, Kiswahili. Post will forward additional details as required. ¶10. The Mission's point of contact for the IWOC nomination is Public Diplomacy Officer Karen Grissette (grisetteke@state.gov; +255 22 266 8001 x 4158).