They promised a revolution in pink. They delivered a graveyard of ambition. Despite the historic presidency of Samia Suluhu Hassan, the 2025 local council elections in Tanzania have returned a damning verdict on gender equity: women made up a paltry 9.6% of candidates.

It was supposed to be the "Samia Effect"—the idea that a female Commander-in-Chief would shatter the glass ceiling for good. Instead, the glass has been reinforced with concrete. The Daily Nation’s investigation reveals a systemic sabotage within the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and opposition parties alike, where "political reforms" were merely cosmetic adjustments to a deeply patriarchal machine.

The Façade of Inclusion

The numbers are an indictment of the political class. While legislation passed in Dodoma mandated the "empowerment" of women, the party primaries told a different story. Female aspirants were systematically sidelined, underfunded, and subjected to violence. The few who made it to the ballot were often placed in unwinnable wards or used as "flower girls" to soften the image of hardline male incumbents.

"Having a woman at the top does not mean the ladder is lowered," says Dr. Fatma Karume, a constitutional lawyer and activist. "If anything, the gatekeepers have become more vicious. They point to President Samia and say, 'You have one, is that not enough?' It is tokenism weaponized against the mass movement."

• Financial Apartheid: The cost of campaigning in Tanzania has risen by 300% since 2020. With women controlling less than 15% of land titles, they effectively cannot afford the admission ticket to democracy.
• Cyber-Bullying: A new front in the war on women is digital. 78% of female candidates reported severe online harassment, including deep-fake pornography and threats to their families, aimed at shaming them out of the race.

A Region in Regression

The Tanzanian failure echoes across the East African Community. From Nairobi to Kampala, the promise of the "Two-Thirds Gender Rule" remains a mirage. But the Tanzanian case is particularly stinging because of the hope invested in President Hassan. Her silence on the structural barriers facing her "sisters" in the villages has been deafening.

As the dust settles on the 2025 polls, the message to the Tanzanian girl child is grim: You can be President, perhaps, if the stars align and men permit it. But do not try to be a councilor. Power, real local power, is still a men-only club.