Eunice is a member of Voice of Disabled Women in Tanzania – a grassroots organisation representing women with disabilities.

Eunice is 40 years old and has albinism. She lives with her five children in Shinyanga in northern Tanzania – a couple of hours’ drive from the shores of Lake Victoria. She also looks after three of her nieces and nephews who have albinism, whom she brought to town so they can go to school.

Believing people with disabilities deserve a seat at the decision-making table, she has contested twice for the position of Special Seats Councillor for Shinyanga Municipal Council.

After gaining skills in communications and advocacy through an Inclusive Futures project, in 2025, she ran a successful campaign – securing the highest number of votes of all candidates elected.

Eunice’s story

“The major barrier I’ve faced as a woman with albinism is being stigmatised. There is a culture in Shinyanga, when someone meets a person with albinism, they will spit on their clothes so their families don’t give birth to children with albinism.

“When I went to school, my fellow students would isolate themselves from me. When I had to go close to the board to read what was written, my classmates would throw things at me. The teachers wouldn’t do anything. There was one teacher who was visually impaired who used to encourage me, that’s how I got better and why I didn’t lose hope.

“Whenever I got sick, the doctor would associate it with my disability. When my mother took me to the doctors with a fever, the doctor would say that it’s normal for my disability and wouldn’t provide me with any medication. They even used to say that having wounds is normal. At that time, there were no protective sunscreens, so I would go out under the sun and get burned.”

Finding a platform

“I joined Voice of Disabled Women in Tanzania in 2019. It’s a small platform and we used to have challenges expressing our concerns – especially to the local government. I wanted to be able to communicate our concerns more directly so I put myself forward to become a councillor.

“In 2020, I put myself forward to become a Special Seats Councillor – I filled out the form and paid the fee. I took the form to the local political party leaders but they didn’t provide me with any instructions about what to do next – how to campaign or how to win votes. Because of the negative stereotypes society had towards women with disabilities, they believed I couldn’t lead the community.

“On voting day, I went into a conference hall full of political party members. People started throwing me questions about my experience – they asked, ‘can you really do anything?’ ‘What experience do you have of leadership?’ It made me tremble, I lost confidence and it discouraged me. I didn’t win many votes.”

Winning the trust of the community

“When the Inclusive Futures education project came along, things changed. They capacitated us women to build our confidence in advocacy skills. They created village and district-level disability committees. Through these committees, we began participating in decision-making. We became trusted in the community.

“The project held community awareness-raising and advocacy events where we would meet parents of children with disabilities and other community members. Because of that support, we women with disabilities began to organise and execute our own events to raise awareness about disability rights.

“I come from the Sukuma tribe, and we use a lot of traditional dances, plays and music. We used to have local artists who would come and beat drums – this would create a stir, and large crowds would gather to see what was happening. Once people had gathered around, that’s when we would pause and advocate for disability rights or encourage parents to take their children to school.”

Persistence pays off

“In 2025, I decided to run again in the council elections. My self-confidence had grown. I was able to use the skills I’d learned in influencing and advocacy to convince voters of my abilities.

“When I started campaigning in 2025, the local leaders I had worked with through the project supported me. Out of the 17 wards I campaigned in, almost all local leaders supported me. They already knew what I could do and passed this on to other community members. This time I was voted in. I won the highest number of votes out of all candidates.”

Championing inclusivity

“I’m proud to have this role. Most disability issues are being ignored – but by being a councillor, I can push agenda items and decisions real quickly. I’ve already started mobilising funds for people with disabilities by influencing councillors to include activities led by organisations of people with disabilities (OPDs) in their budgets, so they can be supported in the long term.

“There are 21 special seat councillors in Shinyanga region and am the only one with disability – I would love to see more women with disabilities coming forwards, participating in elections and becoming part of the committee. The more we are, the stronger our collective voice will be to advocate for our rights in government and influence the decisions that affect our lives.

“I was motivated to get into leadership because people with disabilities aren’t getting their rights. But I’m not going to stop here. What’s next? Maybe member of parliament…”