- At least seven in 10 Tanzanians “agree” or “strong agree” that girls and women should decide for themselves whether and when they should marry (77%) and that women should decide for themselves how many children they want to have and when to have them (70%).
- Women are more likely than men to support women’s autonomy in choices about marriage (80% vs. 73%) and childbearing (78% vs. 63%).
- Six in 10 citizens (59%) say that girls who get pregnant or have children should be allowed to continue their education.
- Support for continuing education increases with lived poverty.
- Six in 10 respondents (61%) support the teaching of sexuality education in schools.
- The same share (61%) “disagree” or “strongly disagree” with the idea that contraceptives should be made available to anyone who is sexually active regardless of marital status. An even larger majority (75%) reject contraceptive access regardless of age.
- Overwhelming majorities of respondents see abortion as “never justified” by certain circumstances: if the woman does not want to keep the pregnancy for any reason (91%), if the woman is economically unable to care for a child (89%), and if the pregnancy is the product of rape or incest (79%).
- But when a pregnancy threatens the woman’s health or life, Tanzanians are split: 48% say abortion is “sometimes” or “always” justified, while 50% say it is not.
Bodily autonomy is widely recognised as a foundational determinant of health, dignity, and broader social well-being. In Tanzania, nearly half of women lack autonomy in matters of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) (Mtoro & Stephano, 2026), and only 21% have complete freedom in making decisions about their overall health (Haruna, Duah, & Lee, 2025). Autonomy is also uneven: It is more prevalent among women who are aged 35-49, have at least primary education, come from wealthier households, have regular media exposure, and live in cities (Mtoro & Stephano, 2026).
Social barriers to contraceptive use remain significant, with limited uptake attributed to lack of knowledge and widespread stigma, particularly among rural adolescents (Sichalwe et al., 2026). In addition, many adolescent girls have difficulty obtaining contraceptives from health-care workers as they fear they will be viewed as sex workers (World Bank, 2023). Across Tanzania, only 28.4% of adolescent girls and young women use modern contraceptives (Kessy et al., 2025). This figure is concerning, as low levels of contraceptive use are associated with elevated rates of unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and maternal mortality.
Tanzania’s Five-Year Implementation Plan for Family Planning (2018-2022) aimed to strengthen women’s SRH autonomy (Nkenguye et al. 2023). The government has also introduced numerous complementary policies to ensure that women receive adequate sexual and reproductive health care (Ministry of Health, 2026; World Bank, 2023).
Recent public-opinion data from a special Afrobarometer Round 10 survey module on sexual and reproductive health and rights in Tanzania demonstrate a complex landscape: While most citizens express support for women’s autonomy in decisions regarding their own marriage and childbearing, far fewer endorse unrestricted access to contraceptives or see abortion as justifiable.
Six in 10 Tanzanians favour the teaching of sexuality education in schools, and a similar share support continuing education for pregnant pupils and young mothers.
Three-fourths of respondents oppose making contraceptives available to everyone who is sexually active, regardless of age, while a smaller majority disagree with making them available to everyone regardless of marital status.
Respondents are split on whether it is acceptable for a pregnancy to be terminated when it threatens a woman’s health or life. By contrast, overwhelming majorities say abortion is never justified in cases where a woman does not want to keep a pregnancy for any reason, where she is economically unable to care for a child, or where the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest.
