Realisation of the right to self-determined development and the protection of indigenous women against discrimination in Tanzania

Abstract

The UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in 2007, marking the culmination of thorough negotiations, lobbying and advocacy involving indigenous peoples’ representatives as key actors. Among other rights, the UNDRIP affirms the right to self-determination for indigenous peoples. Also referred to as the right to self-determined development, the right to self-determination, as stated in the UNDRIP, encompasses indigenous communities’ rights to determine their development trajectories. To indigenous peoples, the significance of the right to self-determination includes the promotion of cultural distinctiveness, which is central to their survival as communities. However, women’s rights scholars and activists are sceptical about the emancipatory potential of realising the right to self-determination for indigenous women. In contrast, exercising this right might also entail the perpetuation of gender-based violence and other forms of discrimination, thus heightening women’s fragility and subordination among indigenous communities and beyond. Using UNDRIP and other relevant international and regional human-rights instruments as vantage points, this paper seeks to juxtapose the implementation of the right to self-determination and the realisation of indigenous women’s rights in Tanzania. The article posits that the protection of indigenous women’s rights should form the central pillar of the enjoyment of the right to self-determination. This is because the cultural survival, vitality and continuity of indigenous peoples’ distinctiveness largely hinges on respect for the rights of indigenous women.