16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence commences in Serengeti, Tanzania

The Hope for Girls and Women (HFGAW) team has been involved in a number of key initiatives in recent days as we commemorate 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (GBV). 

In Mugumu, Serengeti, we visited Mapindusu Secondary school, where girls from Hope for Girls and Women spoke about their experiences with GBV and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Through school visits like this we aim to educate and empower schoolgirls and ensure schoolboys are aware of the importance of rejecting gender stereotypes and discrimination.

The visit was a collaborative session between HFGAW, the Police Gender Desk and Children Desk. Pius Julius Kahabi, Police Inspector, Assistant Inspector of the Police Force, Division of Gender and Children’s Desk, Serengeti District stated;

“We have planned to go around the entire district to create sexual violence councils. There are many children who are subjected to violence and information is not given… the aim is to ensure the protection and safety of children, because violence is a crime by law. We need to join power in stopping acts of sexual violence in the Serengeti District.”

Reusable pads made at HFGAW were distributed

At the school there were passionate speeches, singing and dancing from girls residing at HFGAW, to help engage those gathered and ensure the message was relayed and understood through a number of channels. We also distributed re-usable pads / sanitary towels to:

  • reduce days missed from school during menstruation due to a lack of feminine sanitary products
  • reduce the stigma around menstruation by talking more openly about it and sharing products that girls will be happy to use 
  • reduce the impact on the environment that many sanitary products
  • reduce the financial impact on girls and families of having to buy feminine hygiene products 
Read a full report of the event by DIKAMAKINI here.

Further afield, at Caen University in Normandy, France, Rhobi Samwelly was in attendance at a screening of In the Name of Your Daughter

This important docu-film gives the viewer an frontline view of cutting season in Serengeti, Tanzania. The film portrays the lives of a number of young girls as they navigate the threat of FGM, separation from their families for their protection and the efforts between HFGAW and location authorities to reunite families with their daughters safely. 

Screening of the film to audiences around the world is helping to ensure there is more awareness of FGM, GBV and the being done by Hope for Girls and Women and our location peers to combat these dangerous practices.

We will be bring you further updates over the coming days via our social channels.

How the 2022 Tanzanian Census / Sensa will impact efforts to reduce FGM in Serengeti

In August 2022, there will be a national Census, also known locally as a Sensa, in Tanzania during which time there will be school and business closures throughout the country in order to facilitate data being captured. 

According to Dar Portal, the Census 2022 will be the Sixth Census to be held in the country after the Union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar in 1964. Others took place in 1967, 1978, 1988, 2002 and 2012.

What is the impact of the Sensa / Census in Tanzania on children?​

Throughout the month of August and even beyond, there will be school closures, this will be longer than in a standard year when a Census is not being conducted.

A key risk during this period is to girls whose families will use this extended period of being away from school to carry out female genital cutting/mutilation (FGC/M). This period is known as a ‘cutting season’ – a time during which a higher number of girls will go through FGM/C due to circumstances that make it easier to do so.

Cutting is illegal in Tanzania and therefore extended school holiday periods are often targeted to ensure girls have had an opportunity to ‘recover’ or begin the process of recovery, before returning to schools.

Many schools and even fellow students in Serengeti region have now been educated to know what to look out for and will report families suspected of harming their girls. 

How Hope for Girls and Women will reduce the number of girls going through FGM this August

Hope for Girls and Women has been on high alert throughout 2022 and has been anticipating an August cutting season and therefore an increase in girls requiring our support this year because:

  •  2022 is considered to be a blessed year for cutting as a result of the year being an even number, so dividable by two. For this reason, families and communities in the Serengeti region are more inclined to cut their girls this year
  • The 2022 Sensa/Census means there is an extended holiday period allowing girls to be cut away from educational officials, and means the process of recovery will have started and girls will often not need to be kept off school 
In recent weeks we have identified 200+ girls who are at risk of being cut in August across the Serengeti region. We have been working with the regional police department, including Serengeti District Official Commander Mr Mathew Mgema, and gender desk police including WP Sijali, to conduct meetings in local communities. 
WP Sijali talking to families in Serengeti
WP Sijali talking to families in Serengeti

These meetings are taking place with the families (and associated villagers) in which girls at risk have been identified. The purpose of these meetings is to:

  • Educate on the dangers of FGM/C and the risks this puts on the girls. This ranges from disease transmission to excessive bleeding, difficulty with reproductive health and even the risk of death
  • Clearly explain that cutting is illegal in Tanzania and therefore going ahead with this practice means families will face legal action which can result in jail time and hefty fines
  • Warn families that if we and the police services are not convinced that girls will not be cut, the child will be removed and placed in Hope for Girls and Women’s care throughout the subsequent weeks and months
Serengeti District Official Commander Mr Mathew Mgema
Serengeti District Official Commander Mr Mathew Mgema talks to families

Removing girls from their families is not the ideal solution but is very often the best resort if there is significant concern that FGM/C will take place. In May/June Hope for Girls and Women was already housing 135+ girls across two locations, so we were already incredibly overwhelmed with limited resources, but we have a duty to help as many as possible. 

On 28th July 2022, 24 new girls arrived at Hope For Girls and Women in Mugumu, Serengeti, having been removed from their families for their own protection. 

They have been provided with essentials on arrival such as clothes and sanitary items, and every girl will receive counselling. 

Girls receiving essentials and welcome in Tanzania

They will also be involved in training within the safe houses during the school holidays until education in the region resumes.

We will begin the process of trying to reconcile girls with their families in a few weeks once the risk of them being cut has reduced. They will also either return to school as soon as possible along with other girls from the safe houses. Where that is not an option (if they are not enrolled in a school, have been removed from school by their family, have finished school, or are too far away from their school), they will continue training within the safe houses. 

We will continue to post updates on our social media channels. 

If you are in a position to contribute to help our work during this challenging period, please visit this page.