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In May 2005, a group of Tanzanian women were allowed to enter the tanzanite mines in Merelani, Tanzania, for the first time.

The women of the Tanzanite Women Miners Development Union (TWMDU) have been lobbying for years to get government permission to mine the way the male miners do. They are already allowed to own mines, and all of them do, but they have been forbidden to enter them because of safetly concerns.

"We have applied to the government so that TWMDU members in Merelani be allowed to enter their mines in Block B for mining and checking production on the spot," said Dorah Heliel Mushi, the chairperson of TWMDU and the managing director of Domale Mining Co., Ltd.

She emphasized that the mining privileges apply to the trained members of the TWMDU; not just any woman.

The TWMDU was put in place in Merelani in mid-2004 by 15 women; it has since grown to 40 members. According to TWMDU members, the organization was created to replace the Tanzania Women Miners Association (TAWOMA), which was producing few results. Although the TWMDU members will continue with their TAWOMA membership, they do not rely on it to empower women miners in Tanzania to get out of poverty, according to Merelani mine dispute committee Chairperson Stella Shayo.

"All of the TWMDU 40 members are active, and every one at least owns one mine in Merelani in either blocks A, B, or D," said TWMDU treasurer Salome Chami in March 2005.

Chami added that, in order to strengthen their unity as female tanzanite miners, they have purchased a joint tanzanite mining plot in Block B to be used by women as a training tool and for practice in tanzanite mining. The women’s strategy also includes teaching each other how to facet tanzanite in a variety of common shapes.

TWMDU members are taught gem cutting at a gem center located in Merelani township belonging to their chairperson, Dorah Mushi. Mushi’s tanzanite cutting and training center can handle 20 students at a time. Since its inception about one year ago, TWMDU has trained 12 women in gem-cutting techniques, and at press time eight more were continuing their three-month training.

Despite their hard work in competing with male miners, the female miners of Merelani face many obstacles.

"For example, tanzanite women miners in Merelani have cried for mining plots for about six years now, but the Ministry of Minerals and Energy remained quiet,” said Shayo. “To our surprise, very recently the same ministry allocated mining plots to government leaders and rich people while marginalizing us because of being women.”

Members of TWMDU allege that individuals are given mining privilieges based on relationships with government officials, or officials themselves own mining plots and hide the fact under the names of small-scale miners.

Due to the lack of available mining areas, women miners must compete with “take-aways,” or unemployed Wana-Apollo miners, outside privately-owned mines in Blocks A and D. They search for tiny pieces of tanzanite particles in the tailings of the mines there. This can sometimes prove to be dangerous for the women, since many of the take-aways are thought to be thieves, said TWMDU member Yudita Mtu.

Aside from everything else, the TWMDU faces a lack of funds, and is seeking help from worldwide companies in their fight to make a difference in mining in Tanzania. They also hope to attend large gem shows like Tucson to learn more about the gem market and world gem market operations.

BACK TO: Mining Interrupted.

July/August 2005 • Style: Detour to Design - Reader's Choice Winner • Style: Silver's Golden Age • Sources: Mining Interrupted • News & Updates • In This Issue