Electricity's effect on gender equality in rural Zanzibar, Tanzania : case study for Gender and Energy World Development Report Background Paper

This anthropological case study on the introduction of electricity in rural Zanzibar around 1990 discusses to what extent and how women became empowered in the process. What factors contributed to increased gender equality during the uptake of electricity and related appliances – and what were the barriers? Attention is paid to women's opportunities and their ability to influence the shaping of the new technology as compared to men's, as well as women's role in forming new solutions for energy use. A related issue that is analysed is the manner and extent to which the uptake and use of electricity and appliances have enhanced women's social and economic opportunities, their general ability to take action, and their accumulation of wealth, knowledge and other types of resources. An introduction to Zanzibar and some of the central cultural principles for gender organisation, ideologies and household finances open the case.