Becca Dash Cutting season, FGM, Human Rights

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.

Hope for Girls and Women Campaigning, Human Rights, Training

A weekend of education and empowerment for girls in the Serengeti District

On the weekend of 29th and 30th May 2021, the Hope for Girls and Women Tanzania team collaborated with Grumeti Fund to provide empowerment sessions for local school girls in the Serengeti District.

On Saturday, 288 girls at Chamriho Secondary School were invited to take part.

Amina, who has stayed with Hope, bravely told her story to the girls gathered. This was an opportunity to inspire other girls and encourage them to seek help if they know that plans are being made by their family to have them cut.

Empowerment event

Amina has been able to reside at a Hope Safe House away from her family home, and acted as a proud spokesperson on Saturday.

Smaller group sessions took place throughout the day:

  1. Form four girls took part in a discussion about human resources
  2. Form three girls took part in an entrepreneurship workshop, which provided direction and skills to support them in setting up their own businesses, allowing them to be more independent as they move into womanhood.
  3. Form two girls took part in sessions focused on the importance of having personal plans and being committed to making the best of your own future.

To support menstrual hygiene and environmental sustainability, the girls in attendance were all given re-usable pads.

On Sunday, 703 girls gathered from schools close to Rigicha. During this session, we covered:

  1. Reproductive health and the menstrual cycle
  2. Gender, the effects of gender based violence (GBV) and female genital mutilation (FGM)
  3. Distribution of pads to all of the girls gathered

This was an important weekend of outreach and education, reaching 991 girls. We have found events like this are incredibly helpful for informing not just those gathered – but also their family and friends, as the girls will often go home and confidently discuss what they have learnt.

Thank you to The Grumeti Fund, Amina, and everyone on the Hope for Girls and Women team, as well as everyone who attended the sessions.

Hope for Girls and Women Human Rights, Legal cases

Cutter jailed for 10 years, with victim to receive compensation

In April, a female genital mutilation (FGM) cutter from Kitarungu Village, Tanzania, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay 1,000,000 TZS (c. $430USD / €350) to the victim. The girl’s parents were also jailed for 5 years for their involvement in arranging for the cutting to take place. The case was heard at Mugumu District Court on April 22nd 2021, with the cutting taking place in April 2020.

Police Officer Sijali and Mgesi, the cutter, is sentenced to prison for 10 years
Police Officer Sijali (left) and Mgesi (right), the cutter

FGM was criminalised in Tanzania in 1998 but still happens, particularly in rural areas where it is easier to conduct the practice away from authorities. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to schools being closed which in turn opened a longer window for girls to ‘recover’ away from the eyes of the education system. School holidays will routinely be exploited for this reason, and these periods have come to be known as ‘cutting seasons’. They will often lead to an influx of girls in the Hope for Girls and Women safe houses.

In this case, the victim was admitted to hospital after being rescued and brought to the Hope for Girls and Women safe house in Serengeti. When girls are brought to the Hope safe houses, they are first given a health check, to identify if they have been cut. This is carried out by a health care professional, with action taken accordingly, as seen in this case, to get the necessary treatment where needed. Counselling is also provided to girls at the safe houses, regardless of whether they have been cut or not.

We hope that this will act as a powerful lesson for both cutters and parents alike, who are considering continuing this practice. We truly believe that the changing of mindsets towards this archaic practice through education is a key way to eradicating FGM in Tanzania. We have been conducting programmes to re-educate cutters and support them in making new, more positive life choices. You can read more about this important work here.