Women’s economic empowerment 448. According to the 2010 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey, only 30 per cent of married and employed women are paid cash for their work, compared to 56 per cent of men. The situation is even worse for rural Tanzanian women where only 28 per cent of them are allowed to decide on how their earnings are spent (compared to 48 per cent of women in urban areas). Decisions on household purchases are often made solely by men (57 per cent) and rarely by women (7 per cent). Attesting to this in Mtwara, stakeholders confirmed that male relatives, spouses or husband take control of flourishing activities or the money generated, particularly from growing cashew nuts. This unequal access to earned financial resources has had a negative effect on women’s economic empowerment. Micro-finance loans to women were deemed inadequate in assisting them to bring about any meaningful change in their lives. The CRM was unable to establish the impact of the Economic Fund targeting women.  Women’s land rights 449. It emerged from CRM stakeholder meetings that despite having enacted the Land Act No. 4 of 1999, as amended in 2004, and the Village Lands Act No. 5 of 1999 reversing discriminatory customary practices connected with women’s rights to land and the 2002 Courts (Land Disputes Settlements) Act No. 2, there is a real concern in Tanzania that rural women often do not have effective access to land ownership. This is reflected in the low per centage of women who own land. The Committee is also concerned that the amended land laws do not address the discriminatory issue of inheritance rights. In addition, it is concerned about women’s limited knowledge of their property rights and their lack of any capacity to claim them (Chapter Six discusses this matter in more detail). Women’s access to credit 450. Despite the establishment of the National Micro-Finance Policy, the Women’s Development Fund, the Economic Empowerment Fund, and women’s banking over the years, access to capital is still low for women. One of the major reasons for this is the high interest rates on credit provided to women. There are also burdensome requirements that undermine women’s development. It emerged during CRM meetings that although there are a number of women entrepreneurs, they are largely concentrated in low-growth areas, earning lower financial returns than their male counterparts. The women entrepreneurs continue to face socio-cultural obstacles as well as legal, regulatory, and administrative barriers. This issue is further discussed in Chapter Six. Women’s social standing 451. The CRM was informed that Tanzanian society is largely patriarchal. In Pemba and Mtwara, for instance, the CRM found women and girls were referred to as ‘second class citizens’, suggesting a lower social, political, and economic status than men. In many areas, girls are still socialised to become housewives and to bear children, placing less value on their educational and economic attainment. Worthy of note, however, after increases in the number of women and girls enrolled into formal education, they have begun to challenge these traditional roles. Nonetheless, obstacles still persist for women, both in rural and urban Tanzania. Unequal access to earned income has also affected health outcomes: only 15 per cent of women make decisions about their own health compared to 66 per cent of men. Women’s voices are yet to be heard in decision-making even at household level, let alone in public life, especially in matters that directly affect them. 452. The CRM noted commendable efforts by the URT to establish and strengthen national gender machinery, involving the Ministry of Community Development, Gender and Children for the Tanzanian mainland, and the Ministry of Social welfare, Youth, Women and Children Development for Zanzibar. Ministries, independent departments and agencies, regional secretariats, and local authorities now have gender focal desks. However, institutional capacity in both ministries is weak: inadequate human, financial and technical resources prevent them from effectively discharging their functions in promoting specific programmes to advance women rights; 101