Sofia Kawawa (, 12 August 1936 – 1994) was the co-founders of the Tanzania Women's Union (UWT). She was a member of the
Tanganyika African National Union
The Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) was the principal political party in the struggle for sovereignty in the East African state of Tanganyika (now Tanzania). The party was formed from the Tanganyika African Association by Julius Nyerere ...
(TANU) party and later
Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM).
Early life
She was born in Masonya village in Tunduru District in
Ruvuma. She studied at Masonya Primary and later completed her primary education in
Tabora
Tabora is the capital of Tanzania's Tabora Region and is classified as a municipality by the Tanzanian government. It is also the administrative seat of Tabora Urban District. According to the 2012 census, the district had a population of 226,999. ...
. In 1951 she married
Rashid Kawawa who became the First Prime Minister of
Tanganyika
Tanganyika may refer to:
Places
* Tanganyika Territory (1916–1961), a former British territory which preceded the sovereign state
* Tanganyika (1961–1964), a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania
* Tanzania Main ...
/
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
.
Politics
She was among the first woman to join the TANU Party and to fight for the independence of Tanganyika.
She founded the Tanzania Women's Union (UWT) together with
Bibi Titi Mohamed and went on to serve as the second chairperson from 1980 until 1990. The two women were the first activists to defend the rights of women in the country and they planted the seeds even before independence.
Philosophical and/or political views
Mama Kawawa and other activists had a slogan saying "It must be from the grassroots stems". She campaigned for women to be leaders. She helped
Anna Abdallah and
Gertrude Mongella
Gertrude Ibengwe Mongella ( Makanza; born 13 September 1945) is a Tanzanian politician who is the first president of the Pan-African Parliament.
Early life and work
Mongella was born in 1945 on Ukerewe Island.
In 1970, President Mongella gr ...
become members of parliament.
This is the fruits of her work of planting 50/50 seeds that today activists and politicians want women and men's participation to be 50/50.
Published works
*''Militants, Mothers, and the National Family''
References
Sources
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External links
Militants, Mothers, and the National Family
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kawawa, Sofia
1936 births
1998 deaths
Tanganyika African National Union politicians
Chama Cha Mapinduzi politicians
People from Dar es Salaam
Tanzanian feminists
20th-century Tanzanian women politicians
Tanzanian women writers