Judith Ngusa on the image:
Society is now adopting a rapid enhancement of cultural diversity. The effect of the development of culture would be hard to notice vividly until the impact is huge to handle. In times when Artivist and activists are advocating the establishment of social rights, some forgotten pieces are left behind. Among these major issues are gender equality in the arts and cultural sector.
Most of the social rights defenders turned blind-eyed to gender imbalance in the arts and cultural sector. This harsh silence is so powerful to diminish the voices of the affected. The likeness of the impacts of gender imbalance in various sectors, the Arts and Cultural Sector has its attributions as well.
Tanzania artist’s rights organization(TARO) coordinated a roundtable meeting with the strategic stakeholders in the arts and cultural sector. The theme for the meetings was “Enhanced gender equality and cultural rights in the arts and cultural sector". The aim is to improve the legal framework of the sector .It was conducted on February 2023 at Dar es Salaam.
Traditionally, government legislations have been viewed as gender-neutral instruments, on the assumption that they benefit all members of the public equally. However, structural gender inequalities are still embedded in our society. Even if the laws treat women and men as equals, women still do not have equal access to and control over resources and assets, especially within the arts and cultural sector.
Legislations, regulations, and policies in the sector are not embedded with gender-sensitive content hence poor gender representation in decision-making to cater needs, interests, and ideas of women. Male dominance can be traced in the history of public arts administration bodies in Tanzania. Example: Females are not prioritized in the appointment of mostly executive positions in the sector. Tanzania Film Board and National Arts Council have a rare record to be headed by females. The administration of art associations and federations is highly occupied by men.
The testimonies by participants at the Roundtable discussion portray a clear picture of gender inequality facing the arts and cultural sector. In one of the testimony, a female artist said she was asked for sex incubation with one of her art clients with the promise to assure a contractual deal, the sad part of it the deal was about drawing illustrations for advocating against gender-based violence.
Miss United Nations 2022, Judith Ngusa as a participant added that since most women in fashion models a very young (below 24 years old) they do not know their rights therefore, they are ready to do anything to achieve their dreams. Promoters are aware of the facts and they take advantage of it. In 2019 she won a Miss Dodoma region competition but she was not given the award as promised. She was supposed to receive a TOYOTA IST and a plot of land.
In the picture: Ag Baby a prominent female musician in Tanzania