Challenges Experienced by Women in Learning at Postgraduate Level: A Case of the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania Venosa A. Mushi Institute of Development Studies, Mzumbe University Abstract. This paper is an outcome of a study on the challenges experienced by women in learning at postgraduate level in Tanzania. A cross sectional research design was adopted and the data were collected by administering structured questionnaires to 40 male and female students in various postgraduate programmes at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM). The study results have shown that the main challenge encountered by female students in postgraduate studies is the problem of insufficient sponsorship. It was discovered that although some students were getting funds from various sources, they were not sufficient. Family responsibility was also identified as another serious challenge. The recommendations given include cooperation between various stakeholders of higher education and the government as well as more research on how to improve participation of female members in higher learning. Introduction Women education has a strong linkage to the fight against poverty. This is in conjunction with the fact that a well educated woman is in a better position to earn a living not only for herself but also for her family. Bradley (2000) cited by Gaskell, et al. (2004) pointed out that there has been a general upward trend in women’s participation as university students around the world since 1965. This does not mean that there are no challenges in women’s education. In general, women in developing countries need to be empowered in terms of education so that their contribution in development can be recognized. The kind of empowerment here is in accordance with conservative view, which insists on individual women’s access to resources like funds for schooling (Longwe, 1998). The challenge of inequality between men and women in accessing higher education exists in the majority of developing countries although women enrolment has actually been increasing at a faster rate than that of men (World Bank, 1980). However, the inequality in developed countries is less compared with that of developing countries. The reports in the annual UNESCO statistic yearbook for 1974 show that whereas 5.6 million of men in developing countries are enrolled in higher learning institutions, the enrolment for women is only 2.7 million. For developed countries, the enrolments for men and women are 13.7 million and 10.7 million respectively. Since the colonial era, women in Tanzania were lagging behind men in education, partly due to the official policy augmented by traditional leaders. The leaders complied with and in some cases encouraged the policy utilizing arguments of traditions and customs. This created structural constraints, limiting women education in both qualitative and quantitative terms (Mbilinyi, et al., 1991). However, education in particular has been seen as a vital element of Tanzania’s drive towards national development since 1967 when President Nyerere articulated the policy of “Education for Self-Reliance”, following the Arusha Declaration. The government in collaboration with various non-governmental organisations (NGOs) has been struggling for years to eliminate gender inequality in learning so as to improve women enrolment and participation in higher learning institutions. Despite numerous donor efforts in training, gender has not yet been internalized in some of the donor agencies which claim to have mainstreamed gender. However, there has been a push from committed gender advocates both within government and aid agencies to institutionalize gender concerns. The problem of gender inequality in enrolment and participation in higher learning institutions of Tanzania has its roots from primary through secondary levels of education. Komuhangiro et al. (2003) reported that the differences in male and female enrolment figures in higher learning institutions of Tanzania have their roots from lower levels, especially secondary level, where most of the determination on whether or not to join higher learning is built.