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Paul Tentena
Violence against women in Pemba alone goes to 35.6% while in Unguja stands to 17.2 % annual, a move which an analyst believes can threaten the tourism industry if measures to tame the crisis are not taken immediately.
Considering the fact that Zanzibar depends much on tourism for its forex earnings, this rapidly increasing violence against women could scare away tourists specifically women, an analyst and tourist guide Juma Mponji said.
"We need to break the wall of silence surrounding violence against women," he urged.
A study by ActionAid shows despite numerous international and national laws, violence against women and girls is one of the most widespread abuses of human rights worldwide.
"One in five women globally will face rape or attempted rape in her lifetime," the report said.
It is a form of discrimination and is deeply rooted in power imbalances and structural inequality between women and men, said the ActionAid Tanzania's country director, Ms Aida Kiangi.
The ActionAid survey found that 17.2 % of ever partnered women aged 15 and above in Unguja and 35.6 % in Pemba said they had experienced physical violence, according to Kiangi.
"As we conducted the research for this report, telling the stories, has been an immense challenge," Kiangi said. "Everywhere we went, women initially denied the existence of violence, and then often as we were about to move on, the stories would pour out- the rape of a neighbour, the constant beating of a distant cousin by a husband, the emotional abuse of a woman trapped in her own home."
She added that the frustration with the justice system- both informal and formal was evident.
"At times there is a lack of understanding about police procedures. What constitutes violence against women and why the practice is a violation of rights," she lamented.
It has become evident to us that the true figures of violence in these communities remain behind a wall of silence and more work has to been done to break that wall.
ActionAid's new report Wall of Silence: A look at violence against women in Northern Zanzibar demonstrates that addressing violence and breaking through the 'wall of silence' requires a two-pronged approach.
She said community values and attitudes which promote violence as a community matter rather than a criminal offence and encourage marriage or the payment of compensation must be targeted through legal awareness programmes and the provision of support for victims.
She said the second was that legal institutions and services must be strengthened so that they offer a viable alternative to informal mediation of offences.
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