This article examines how Tanzania’s legal and institutional frameworks shape women’s participation in local democracy. Data from the 2019 local elections showed that women occupied only 2.1%, 6.7%, and 12% of elected village, hamlet, and street chairperson positions, respectively. These figures reflect women’s persistent structural exclusion at the lower levels of governance. Leveraging data from the 2024 local elections, the analysis adopts a feminist legal methodology. The aim is to show how law constructs gendered pathways that favour descriptive rather than substantive representation. Structural barriers are embedded in the quota design, the first-past-the-post electoral system, compulsory party sponsorship, the prohibition of independent candidacy, and restrictive age thresholds. Such barriers confine women to reserved seats and discourage their participation in competitive positions. Weak enforcement of electoral regulations, a lack of disaggregated data, and executive control over election administration further entrench women’s exclusion. The findings affirm the feminist legal theory-based argument that law reproduces patriarchal power through its design and implementation. Several steps are required to advance substantive gender equality in local governance, including transformative reforms, proportional electoral designs, intersectionality considerations, inclusive data architectures, and independent electoral oversight.