Women or female-headed households (FHHs)
are often considered poor or vulnerable without indepth
analysis. However, this pespective needs to
be further analyzed especially in consideration to
recent social changes. In fact, FFHs in Tanzania are
considered vulnerable in participatory assessments, but
its consumption levels are not lower than male-headed
households (MHHs),1
and poverty rates are rather
higher in MHHs.2
There is also a debate even on the definition
of “female-headed households”.3 With reference to
previous research on Africa, this article will define
FHHs to be households with women as the head of
household as a result of being unmarried, separated,
divorced, widowed and/or long-term absence of
husbands as a result of migration.4
However, diversity
of FHHs have already become apparent in various
researches, and this article will also touch upon such
diversities. For example, a case study of Nyamwezi,
a patrilineal society in Northern Tanzania, indicated
that not all FHHs are “poor”, but can be located in
a life cycle being unmarried, divorced/separated,
immigration of the husband or widowed.