Women Action Towards Economic Development (WATED)

Established in 2013, WATED is a national NGO in Tanzania whose main goal is to empower women and girls economically. WATED seeks to contribute towards women economic development by working for and with grassroots communities in the rural parts of Tanzania as well as the peripherals of the city to strengthen their access to information related to leadership, human rights and economic opportunities while documenting the challenges they face and providing recommendations that will influence policy makers in Tanzania to include women economic justice as an agenda in all sectors.

WATED is currently implementing a number of projects including on the land rights of women by offering legal training and building women and girls capacity in land rights leadership and entrepreneurship skills. They also have an environmental justice project which seeks to strengthen the capacities of grassroots groups and movements to lobby and advocate for their rights to a clean healthy and safe environment and through their “Coalition on Gender and Climate.” Additionally, they support a project on provision of legal aid services for women and girls, which culminated in the establishment of a foundation for women and children’s access to justice. Lastly, they work at the intersections between gender-based violence and business and human rights. They established a training center for women and girls, which serves as a safe space for them to meet, learn and share life skills to respond to GBV and the impacts of corporations’ activities on communities.