Man to spend 30 yrs behind bars for raping own daughterBy Daniel Ondigo
26th October 2010
Moshi District Court has sentenced Gezaulole villager Andrew Tito Akyoo to 30 years’ imprisonment after being found guilty of raping his own daughter, aged 13 years.
In addition to the 30-year penalty, Akyoo (46), a resident of Hai District in Kilimanjaro Region, will also receive 10 strokes of the cane, ruled Siha district magistrate Dennis Mpelembwa when delivering his judgment on the case yesterday.
The magistrate said it was evident from prosecution evidence adduced in court that the accused committed the offence repeatedly in August 2009 to a pupil of Kibaoni Primary School, who happened to be his daughter.
Mpelembwa narrated that Akyoo was living with his two daughters in a single room partitioned by a loose curtain after their mother had died some years back.
To accomplish his selfish desires, the magistrate said, the accused engaged in conjugal relationship with the said daughter three times per night after threatening her life if she refused or disclosed the secret to anybody.
Given an opportunity to plea for mercy before judgment was delivered, the accused asked the court to be lenient on grounds that he was ill and under anti-retroviral drug (ARV) dosage.
Source: www.ippmedia.com
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Tanzania - Child labor & sexual abuse: A UN report
Tanzania
Selected Child Labor Measures Adopted by Governments Ratified Convention 138 (12/16/1998) X
Ratified Convention 182 (09/12/2001) X
ILO-IPEC Member X
National Plan for Children
National Child Labor Action Plan X
Sector Action Plan
Incidence and Nature of Child Labor
The Tanzanian National Bureau of Statistics estimated that 35.4 percent of children ages 5 to 14 years in Tanzania were working in 2000-2001.[3823] The survey found that majority of working children were unpaid family workers who engaged in agricultural and non-agricultural work on family farms. An estimated 77.4 percent of children ages 5 to 14 work in the agricultural, forestry, and fishing sectors, while 49.9 percent of children ages 5 to 14 engage in housekeeping activities.[3824] The survey found that 55.7 percent of working children ages 5 to 14 years attended school.[3825]
Children work on commercial tea,[3826] coffee,[3827] sugar cane,[3828] sisal, cloves,[3829] and tobacco farms,[3830] and in the production of wheat and corn.[3831] Children also work in underground mines and near mines in bars and restaurants.[3832]
In the informal sector, children are engaged in scavenging, fishing, fish processing, and quarrying.[3833] Other children work as barmaids, street vendors, car washers, shoe shiners, cart pushers, carpenters, auto repair mechanics, and in garages.[3834] Children also work in paid domestic service.[3835]
Girls as young as 7 years, and increasingly boys, are reportedly victims of commercial sexual exploitation.[3836] According to an ILO study, children have been exploited in the production of pornographic films.[3837] Children from Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda also engage in prostitution in Tanzania.[3838] Children are reportedly trafficked internally to work in the fishing industry, mines, commercial agriculture, and domestic service.[3839] Children are trafficked from rural areas for exploitation in the commercial sex sector.[3840] It is reported that girls are trafficked from Tanzania to South Africa, the Middle East, and Europe for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Children are also trafficked from Tanzania for the purpose of forced labor. Children are reportedly trafficked into Tanzania from India, Kenya, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to work in forced agricultural labor and prostitution.[3841]
Education in Tanzania is compulsory for 7 years, until children reach the age of 15 years.[3842] In 2001, the gross primary enrollment rate was 70 percent, and the net primary enrollment rate was 54.4 percent.[3843] Gross and net enrollment ratios are based on the number of students formally registered in primary school and therefore do not necessarily reflect actual school attendance. In 2001, 56.9 percent of children aged 5 to 17 years attended school.[3844] The Tanzanian Parliament voted in 2002 to drop primary school fees, but a lack of resources for additional teachers, classrooms, books, or uniforms, led to primary schools becoming overwhelmed by the massive increase in children seeking to take advantage of free primary education.[3845] Moreover, families must pay for enrollment fees, books, and uniforms. In contrast to mainland Tanzania, tuition also must be paid on Zanzibar.[3846]
Child Labor Laws and Enforcement
The Employment Ordinance of 1955 prohibits employment of children under the “apparent” age of 12 years. This ordinance also prohibits children under the age of 15 years and young people under the age of 18 years from employment in any work that could be injurious to health, dangerous or otherwise unsuitable. It prohibits children under the age of 15 years from working near machinery, and young people under the apparent age of 18 years from engaging in underground work. Children under the “apparent” age of 18 years are prohibited from working between the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 am. The law does not restrict children from family work or light agriculture work that has been approved by the proper authority.[3847] Under the Employment Ordinance, employers are obliged to maintain registers listing the age of workers, working conditions, the nature of employment, and commencement and termination dates.[3848] In Zanzibar, the law prohibits employment of children under the age of 18 years depending on the nature of the work.[3849]
Tanzania’s Constitution prohibits forced or compulsory labor.[3850] Tanzanian law considers sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 18 years to be rape, which is punishable with life imprisonment. Tanzanian law prohibits the procuring of a child under the age of 18 for the purpose of sexual intercourse or indecent exhibition. The law further prohibits the procurement or attempted procurement of a person under the age of 18 years for the purpose of prohibited sexual intercourse either inside or outside the country.[3851] In 2001, the Tanzanian Penal Code was amended to include a provision criminalizing trafficking of persons within or outside Tanzania.[3852]
Several government agencies have jurisdiction over areas related to child labor, but primary responsibility for enforcing the country’s child labor laws rests with the Ministry of Labor, Youth Development and Sports. The ministry’s Child Labor Unit works together with other government ministries and networking with other stakeholders. It gathers, analyzes, and disseminates child labor related data, and is involved in training and sensitizing labor inspectors on child labor issues. The Child Labor Unit also acts as the secretariat for the National Child Labor Elimination Steering Committee (NCLESC). The NCLESC is responsible for defining objectives and priorities for child labor interventions, approving and overseeing implementation of child labor action projects, and advising the government on various child labor issues.[3853] At the community level, child labor monitoring committees have been established in areas with a high incidence of child labor. [3854] The Ministry of Labor, Youth Development and Sports, however, lacks sufficient inspectors to monitor for child labor violations.[3855]
Current Government Policies and Programs to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor
The Government of Tanzania is working with ILO-IPEC to implement a Timebound Program (TBP) to eliminate the worst forms of child labor in the country by 2010, including child labor in commercial agriculture, domestic service, mining, and commercial sexual exploitation of children.[3856] The Child Labor Unit of the Ministry of Labor, Youth Development and Sports is working with ILO-IPEC under the TBP to provide training for district child labor coordinators and district officials in the TBP’s 11 target districts, to increase their capacity to combat the worst forms of child labor.[3857] In 2004, the Department of Information Services conducted 11 orientation workshops to raise awareness among communities and the media about the worst forms of child labor.[3858] As part of the TBP, the Ministry of Education’s Complementary Basic Education in Tanzania (COBET) Program its Vocational Education Training Authority (VETA) are providing basic education and vocational training to children withdrawn or prevented from involvement in the worst forms of child labor in the TBP’s 11 target districts.[3859]
In addition, the Government of Japan, through UNICEF, is supporting a basic education project targeting out-of-school children in Tanzania that will provide text books, reading materials on HIV/AIDS, and community workshops on HIV/AIDS with support from COBET.[3860] Tanzania is also working with four other countries participating in an ILO-IPEC program, funded by USDOL, to remove children from exploitative work in commercial agriculture.[3861]
In March 2004, the Tanzanian Ministry of Education and Culture signed an MOU with the NGO Education Development Center (EDC) stipulating areas of collaboration, roles, and responsibilities in support of the education component of the Tanzania TBP. The EDC project seeks to ensure that children engaged in or at risk of engaging in the worst forms of child labor have access to basic, quality education, as a means of helping to eliminate the worst forms of child labor.[3862]
The Government of Tanzania’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper includes the elimination of child labor as an objective and the preparation of a child labor action plan in its workplan.[3863] The strategy paper established the Poverty Monitoring Master Plan (PMMP), which includes children in the labor force as a poverty monitoring indicator.[3864] An Education Fund to support children from poor families is called for within the PMMP strategy paper.[3865] Tanzania’s Development Vision 2025 and its Poverty Eradication Strategy 2015 both identify education as a strategy for combating poverty. The country’s poverty eradication agenda includes ensuring all children the right to basic quality education.[3866]
The government’s Basic Education Master Plan aims to achieve universal access to basic education for children over the age of 7 years, and ensure that at least 80 percent of children complete primary education and are able to read and write by the age of 15 years.[3867] The government is implementing a 5-year Primary Education Development Plan (PEDP), begun in 2002, which aims to expand enrollment, improve the quality of teaching, and build capacity within the country’s educational system. Under the PEDP, the government has committed up to 25 percent of its overall recurrent expenditures on the education sector, with 62 percent to be allocated to primary education.[3868] The government abolished school fees to promote children’s enrollment in primary school under the PEDP.[3869]
The Government of Tanzania receives funding from the World Bank and other donors under the Education for All Fast Track Initiative, which aims to provide all children with a primary school education by the year 2015.[3870]
[3823] The survey also found that 58.9 percent of children ages 15 to 17 were working. According to the survey, economically active children are defined as working children who supplied labor for payment in cash or in kind or who were self employed for profit or family gain. Collecting firewood, fetching water, and working as domestic servants in other households were included as economic activities. Unpaid domestic work in children’s own homes was considered non-economic; these activities included cooking, cleaning, washing dishes, taking care of young children or the elderly, and shopping. See National Bureau of Statistics, Child Labor in Tanzania, Country Report: 2000/2001 Integrated Labour Force and Child Labour Survey, no date, 10, 22, 39.
[3824] Ibid., 22, 34.
[3825] Ibid., 53-54.
[3826] M. J. Gonza and P. Moshi, Tanzania Children Working in Commercial Agriculture-Tea : A Rapid Assessment, ILO-IPEC, Geneva, January 2002.
[3827] George S. Nchahaga, Children Working in Commercial Agriculture- Coffee: A Rapid Assessment, ILO-IPEC, Geneva, 2002, 29-32.
[3828] ILO-IPEC, Investigating the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Tanzania: Rapid Assessments in the Informal Sector, Mining, Child Prostitution and Commercial Agriculture (Draft Report), Dar es Salaam, 2000, 4.
[3829] ILO-IPEC, Tanzania: Focusing on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, Dar es Salaam, 2001.
[3830] A. Masudi, A. Ishumi, F. Mbeo, and W. Sambo, Tanzania Child Labour in Commercial Agriculture-Tobacco: A Rapid Assessment, ILO-IPEC, Geneva, November 2001.
[3831] U.S. Embassy- Dar es Salaam, unclassified telegram no. 1653, August 24, 2004.
[3832] Children ages 7 to 13 years work in mine pits an average of 4 to 5 hours per day, while children ages 14 to 18 years work on average 7 hours per day. J. A. Mwami, A.J. Sanga, and J. Nyoni, Tanzania Children Labour in Mining: A Rapid Assessment, ILO-IPEC, Geneva, January 2002, 37-39. Children, known as “snake boys,” crawl through narrow tunnels in unregulated gemstone mines to help position mining equipment and explosives. See U.S. Embassy- Dar es Salaam, unclassified telegram no. 1653. Children ages 10 to 13 years work an average of 14 hours per day in bars and restaurants near mines. See Mwami, Sanga, and Nyoni, Tanzania Children Labour in Mining, 37-39.
[3833] C. Kadonya, M. Madihi, and S. Mtwana, Tanzania Child Labour in the Informal Sector: A Rapid Assessment, ILO-IPEC, Geneva, January 2002, 33-48.
[3834] U.S. Department of Labor, By the Sweat and Toil of Children: Efforts to Eliminate Child Labor (Volume 5), Washington, D.C., 1998, 165. See also ILO, Baseline study and attitude survey on child labour and its worst forms, Dar es Salaam, June 2003, 10.
[3835]U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices- 2003: Tanzania, Washington, D.C., May 24, 2004, Section 6d; available from http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27756.htm. See also ILO, Baseline study and attitude survey on child labour and its worst forms, 10. Research published by the Tanzania Media Women’s Association suggests that 60 percent of female domestic servants, or “housegirls,” are sexually abused in the workplace. See Daniel Dickinson, Tanzania 'housegirls' face sexual abuse, BBC News, May 10, 2003 [cited May 24, 2004]; available from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3015223.stm. In 2000, a survey indicated that children younger than 17 years comprise 80 percent of domestic workers in Tanzania. See Bill Rau for ILO-IPEC, Combating Child Labour and HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa, no. 1, Geneva, July 2002.
[3836] U.S. Embassy- Dar es Salaam, unclassified telegram no. 1948, August 18, 2003. See also The Protection Project, "Tanzania," in Human Rights Report on Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children: A Country-by-Country Report on a Contemporary Form of Slavery, March 2002; available from http://209.190.246.239/ver2/cr/Tanzania.pdf. UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 44 of the Convention: Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child: United Republic of Tanzania, CRC/C/15/Add.156, United Nations, Geneva, July 2001, para 62; available from http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/6828b7389ae0a66fc1256a7600453ede?Opendocument.
[3837] E. Kamala, E. Lusinde, J. Millinga, J. Mwaitula, M.J. Gonza, M.G. Juma, and H.A. Khamis, Tanzania Children in Prostitution: A Rapid Assessment, ILO-IPEC, Geneva, November 2001, 23. See also Kadonya, Madihi, and Mtwana, Tanzania Child Labour in the Informal Sector.
[3838] Kamala, Lusinde, Millinga, Mwaitula, Gonza, Juma, and Khamis, Tanzania Children in Prostitution, 20.
[3839] U.S. Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report- 2004: Tanzania, Washington, D.C., June 2004; available from http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2004/33189.htm. See also ILO, Baseline study and attitude survey on child labour and its worst forms., page 24.
[3840] Such children are often lured with false promises of work in urban areas as house girls, barmaids, and in hair salons. See Kamala, Lusinde, Millinga, Mwaitula, Gonza, Juma, and Khamis, Tanzania Children in Prostitution, 20. See also U.S. Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report: Tanzania.
[3841] U.S. Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report: Tanzania.
[3842] U.S. Department of State, Country Reports- 2003: Tanzania, Section 5.
[3843] World Bank, World Development Indicators 2004 [CD-ROM], Washington D.C., 2004.
[3844] School attendance peaked in the 10 to 14 age group, or the age of completion of primary school. See National Bureau of Statistics, 2000/2001 Integrated Labour Force Survey, 24, 25.
[3845] U.S. Embassy- Dar es Salaam, unclassified telegram no. 1653.
[3846] Ibid, U.S. Department of State, Country Reports- 2003: Tanzania, Section 5.
[3847] The Employment Ordinance states that any employer found to be in violation of child labor laws is subject to a fine of 2,000 shillings (USD 1.93). See FXConverter, Currency Conversion Results, [cited November 3, 2004]; available from http://www.oanda.com/convert/classic.) and/or 3 months of imprisonment. See Law Reform Commission of Tanzania, Report of the Commission on the Law Relating to Children in Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, 1997, 131-32. See also United Republic of Tanzania, Information on Efforts by Tanzania to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor, letter to USDOL USDOL official, October 4, 2002. References to the “apparent age” of a child are based on language in the Employment Ordinance of 1955. The Ordinance does not provide a specific definition for the term “apparent age.” See Child Labor Research Initiative, Tanzania Child Labor Legislation: Employment Ordinance, 1955-Part IX Recruitment, University of Iowa, 2003 [cited May 26, 2004]; available from http://db.uichr.org/docs/530.html.
[3848] Law Reform Commission of Tanzania, Report of the Commission, 131.
[3849] UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 44 of the Convention: Initial Reports of States Party due in 1993, CRC/C/8/Add.14/Rev.1, United Nations, Geneva, September 25, 2000, para 355; available from http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/898586b1dc7b4043c1256a450044f331/a4d65ef2bb2bc3b6c12569cb003aa328/$FILE/G0044600.pdf.
[3850] Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977, Chapter 1, Section 25(2); available from http://www.tanzania.go.tz/images/theconstitutionoftheunitedrepublicoftanzania1.pdf.
[3851] Section 130 of the Penal Code. See Child Labor Research Initiative, Tanzania Child Labor Legislation: Sexual Offences Special Provisions Act, 1998-Part II: Amendment of the Penal Code, University of Iowa, 2003 [cited May 26, 2004]; available from http://db.uichr.org/docs/449.html.
[3852] U.S. Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report- 2003: Tanzania, Washington, D.C., June 2003; available from http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2003/.
[3853] National Roundtable Discussion on the Time-Bound Program on the Worst Forms of Child Labor, Time-Bound Program on the Worst Forms of Child Labor in Tanzania: Summary of the Institutional and Policy Study, April, 2001, 15-16.
[3854] ILO-IPEC, Supporting the Time-Bound Program on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor in Tanzania, project document, Geneva, 2001, 17-18. See also U.S. Embassy- Dar es Salaam, unclassified telegram no. 1948, para 10. U.S. Embassy- Dar es Salaam, unclassified telegram no. 2966, October 23, 2002.
[3855] U.S. Department of State, Country Reports- 2003: Tanzania, Section 6d.
[3856] This project, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, focuses on 11 target districts. ILO-IPEC, Supporting the Time-Bound Program, vii and 27. See President of the United Republic of Tanzania, His Excellency Mr. Benjamin Mkapa, Address at the Special High-level Session on the Launch of the Time Bound Programme on the Worst Forms of Child Labour in the Republic of El Salvador, the Kingdom of Nepal and the United Republic of Tanzania, June 12, 2001; available from http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/relm/ilc/ilc89/a-mkapa.htm.
[3857] ILO-IPEC, Action Programme to Protect Working Children and to Combat and Eliminate Child Labour by the Child Labour Unit, Ministry of Labour, Youth Development and Sports, ILO-IPEC, Dar es Salaam, October 21, 2002.
[3858] ILO-IPEC, Tanzania Timebound Program June 2004 Technical Status Report, Dar es Salaam, June 2004.
[3859] ILO-IPEC, Programme to Provide Basic Education to 16,000 Children Withdrawn from and/or at Risk of Getting into Worst Forms of Child Labour in 11 Target Districts in Tanzania by Ministry of Education and Culture, ILO-IPEC, Dar es Salaam, November 10, 2003. ILO-IPEC, Action Programme for Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor through the Provision of Vocational Skills Training in Eleven TBP Target Districts in Tanzania by Vocational Education and Training Authority (VETA), ILO-IPEC, Dar es Salaam, November 11, 2003. The government aims to scale up nationally the provision of basic education through COBET, and eliminate gender stereotypes by undertaking a review of curriculum, text books, and classroom practices. IRINNews, Tanzania: UNICEF calls for more efforts to educate girls, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, December 11, 2003 [cited February 12, 2004]; available from http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?reportID=38364.
[3860] IRINNews, Tanzania: Japan boosts basic education for out-of-school youth, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, December 18, 2003 [cited February 12, 2004]; available from http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?reportID=38486.
[3861] Other countries participating in the project include Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, and Zambia. See ILO-IPEC, Prevention, Withdrawal and Rehabilitation of Children Engaged in Hazardous Work in the Commercial Agricultural Sector in Africa, program document, November 1, 2000.
[3862] Education Development Center, Status Report: Time Bound Programme on Eliminating Child Labour in Tanzania, Geneva, July 2004. The EDC project is supporting the operation of 186 Mambo Elimu learning centers in Tanzania where approximately 875 children are currently receiving basic education through a radio-based distant learning curriculum. See Education Development Center, Technical Progress Report: Time Bound Programme on Eliminating Child Labour in Tanzania, Geneva, April 9, 2004.
[3863] United Republic of Tanzania, Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper: Progress Report 2000/2001, August 14, 2001, 4, 43. See also ILO-IPEC, IPEC Action Against Child Labour 2000-2001: Progress and Future Priorities, paper, Geneva, January 2002, 15; available from http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/ipec/about/implementation/ipecreport.pdf.
[3864] Government of Tanzania, The United Republic of Tanzania Poverty Monitoring Master Plan - Tanzania, ILO, [online] 2001 [cited August 15, 2003]; available from http://www.logos-net.net/ilo/150_base/en/init/tan_2.htm.
[3865] United Republic of Tanzania, Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper: Progress Report 2000/2001, 4, 44.
[3866] UNESCO, Education for All 2000 Assessment: Country Reports- Tanzania, prepared by Ministry of Education and Culture, pursuant to UN General Assembly Resolution 52/84, 1999; available from http://www2.unesco.org/wef/countryreports/tanzania/contents.html.
[3867] Ibid., 2.2 See also U.S. Embassy- Dar es Salaam, unclassified telegram no. 2966.
[3868] Government of the United Republic of Tanzania, Education Sector Development Programme: Primary Education Development Plan (2002-2006), Dar es Salaam, July 2001, iv, 21; available from http://www.tanedu.org/educationsctordevelopment1.pdf. The government has received a USD 150 million credit from the World Bank to support this program. See World Bank, Tanzania-Primary Education Development Program, October 10, 2001; available from
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:20012776~menuPK:34466~pagePK:
64003015~piPK:64003012~theSitePK:4607,00.html.
[3869] IRINNews, Tanzania: UNICEF calls for more efforts to educate girls.
[3870] World Bank, World Bank Announces First Group Of Countries For ‘Education For All’ Fast Track, press release, Washington, D.C., June 12, 2002; available from
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:20049839~menuPK:34463~pagePK:
34370~piPK:34424,00.html.
Source: http://www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2004/tanzania.htm
Selected Child Labor Measures Adopted by Governments Ratified Convention 138 (12/16/1998) X
Ratified Convention 182 (09/12/2001) X
ILO-IPEC Member X
National Plan for Children
National Child Labor Action Plan X
Sector Action Plan
Incidence and Nature of Child Labor
The Tanzanian National Bureau of Statistics estimated that 35.4 percent of children ages 5 to 14 years in Tanzania were working in 2000-2001.[3823] The survey found that majority of working children were unpaid family workers who engaged in agricultural and non-agricultural work on family farms. An estimated 77.4 percent of children ages 5 to 14 work in the agricultural, forestry, and fishing sectors, while 49.9 percent of children ages 5 to 14 engage in housekeeping activities.[3824] The survey found that 55.7 percent of working children ages 5 to 14 years attended school.[3825]
Children work on commercial tea,[3826] coffee,[3827] sugar cane,[3828] sisal, cloves,[3829] and tobacco farms,[3830] and in the production of wheat and corn.[3831] Children also work in underground mines and near mines in bars and restaurants.[3832]
In the informal sector, children are engaged in scavenging, fishing, fish processing, and quarrying.[3833] Other children work as barmaids, street vendors, car washers, shoe shiners, cart pushers, carpenters, auto repair mechanics, and in garages.[3834] Children also work in paid domestic service.[3835]
Girls as young as 7 years, and increasingly boys, are reportedly victims of commercial sexual exploitation.[3836] According to an ILO study, children have been exploited in the production of pornographic films.[3837] Children from Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda also engage in prostitution in Tanzania.[3838] Children are reportedly trafficked internally to work in the fishing industry, mines, commercial agriculture, and domestic service.[3839] Children are trafficked from rural areas for exploitation in the commercial sex sector.[3840] It is reported that girls are trafficked from Tanzania to South Africa, the Middle East, and Europe for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Children are also trafficked from Tanzania for the purpose of forced labor. Children are reportedly trafficked into Tanzania from India, Kenya, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to work in forced agricultural labor and prostitution.[3841]
Education in Tanzania is compulsory for 7 years, until children reach the age of 15 years.[3842] In 2001, the gross primary enrollment rate was 70 percent, and the net primary enrollment rate was 54.4 percent.[3843] Gross and net enrollment ratios are based on the number of students formally registered in primary school and therefore do not necessarily reflect actual school attendance. In 2001, 56.9 percent of children aged 5 to 17 years attended school.[3844] The Tanzanian Parliament voted in 2002 to drop primary school fees, but a lack of resources for additional teachers, classrooms, books, or uniforms, led to primary schools becoming overwhelmed by the massive increase in children seeking to take advantage of free primary education.[3845] Moreover, families must pay for enrollment fees, books, and uniforms. In contrast to mainland Tanzania, tuition also must be paid on Zanzibar.[3846]
Child Labor Laws and Enforcement
The Employment Ordinance of 1955 prohibits employment of children under the “apparent” age of 12 years. This ordinance also prohibits children under the age of 15 years and young people under the age of 18 years from employment in any work that could be injurious to health, dangerous or otherwise unsuitable. It prohibits children under the age of 15 years from working near machinery, and young people under the apparent age of 18 years from engaging in underground work. Children under the “apparent” age of 18 years are prohibited from working between the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 am. The law does not restrict children from family work or light agriculture work that has been approved by the proper authority.[3847] Under the Employment Ordinance, employers are obliged to maintain registers listing the age of workers, working conditions, the nature of employment, and commencement and termination dates.[3848] In Zanzibar, the law prohibits employment of children under the age of 18 years depending on the nature of the work.[3849]
Tanzania’s Constitution prohibits forced or compulsory labor.[3850] Tanzanian law considers sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 18 years to be rape, which is punishable with life imprisonment. Tanzanian law prohibits the procuring of a child under the age of 18 for the purpose of sexual intercourse or indecent exhibition. The law further prohibits the procurement or attempted procurement of a person under the age of 18 years for the purpose of prohibited sexual intercourse either inside or outside the country.[3851] In 2001, the Tanzanian Penal Code was amended to include a provision criminalizing trafficking of persons within or outside Tanzania.[3852]
Several government agencies have jurisdiction over areas related to child labor, but primary responsibility for enforcing the country’s child labor laws rests with the Ministry of Labor, Youth Development and Sports. The ministry’s Child Labor Unit works together with other government ministries and networking with other stakeholders. It gathers, analyzes, and disseminates child labor related data, and is involved in training and sensitizing labor inspectors on child labor issues. The Child Labor Unit also acts as the secretariat for the National Child Labor Elimination Steering Committee (NCLESC). The NCLESC is responsible for defining objectives and priorities for child labor interventions, approving and overseeing implementation of child labor action projects, and advising the government on various child labor issues.[3853] At the community level, child labor monitoring committees have been established in areas with a high incidence of child labor. [3854] The Ministry of Labor, Youth Development and Sports, however, lacks sufficient inspectors to monitor for child labor violations.[3855]
Current Government Policies and Programs to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor
The Government of Tanzania is working with ILO-IPEC to implement a Timebound Program (TBP) to eliminate the worst forms of child labor in the country by 2010, including child labor in commercial agriculture, domestic service, mining, and commercial sexual exploitation of children.[3856] The Child Labor Unit of the Ministry of Labor, Youth Development and Sports is working with ILO-IPEC under the TBP to provide training for district child labor coordinators and district officials in the TBP’s 11 target districts, to increase their capacity to combat the worst forms of child labor.[3857] In 2004, the Department of Information Services conducted 11 orientation workshops to raise awareness among communities and the media about the worst forms of child labor.[3858] As part of the TBP, the Ministry of Education’s Complementary Basic Education in Tanzania (COBET) Program its Vocational Education Training Authority (VETA) are providing basic education and vocational training to children withdrawn or prevented from involvement in the worst forms of child labor in the TBP’s 11 target districts.[3859]
In addition, the Government of Japan, through UNICEF, is supporting a basic education project targeting out-of-school children in Tanzania that will provide text books, reading materials on HIV/AIDS, and community workshops on HIV/AIDS with support from COBET.[3860] Tanzania is also working with four other countries participating in an ILO-IPEC program, funded by USDOL, to remove children from exploitative work in commercial agriculture.[3861]
In March 2004, the Tanzanian Ministry of Education and Culture signed an MOU with the NGO Education Development Center (EDC) stipulating areas of collaboration, roles, and responsibilities in support of the education component of the Tanzania TBP. The EDC project seeks to ensure that children engaged in or at risk of engaging in the worst forms of child labor have access to basic, quality education, as a means of helping to eliminate the worst forms of child labor.[3862]
The Government of Tanzania’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper includes the elimination of child labor as an objective and the preparation of a child labor action plan in its workplan.[3863] The strategy paper established the Poverty Monitoring Master Plan (PMMP), which includes children in the labor force as a poverty monitoring indicator.[3864] An Education Fund to support children from poor families is called for within the PMMP strategy paper.[3865] Tanzania’s Development Vision 2025 and its Poverty Eradication Strategy 2015 both identify education as a strategy for combating poverty. The country’s poverty eradication agenda includes ensuring all children the right to basic quality education.[3866]
The government’s Basic Education Master Plan aims to achieve universal access to basic education for children over the age of 7 years, and ensure that at least 80 percent of children complete primary education and are able to read and write by the age of 15 years.[3867] The government is implementing a 5-year Primary Education Development Plan (PEDP), begun in 2002, which aims to expand enrollment, improve the quality of teaching, and build capacity within the country’s educational system. Under the PEDP, the government has committed up to 25 percent of its overall recurrent expenditures on the education sector, with 62 percent to be allocated to primary education.[3868] The government abolished school fees to promote children’s enrollment in primary school under the PEDP.[3869]
The Government of Tanzania receives funding from the World Bank and other donors under the Education for All Fast Track Initiative, which aims to provide all children with a primary school education by the year 2015.[3870]
[3823] The survey also found that 58.9 percent of children ages 15 to 17 were working. According to the survey, economically active children are defined as working children who supplied labor for payment in cash or in kind or who were self employed for profit or family gain. Collecting firewood, fetching water, and working as domestic servants in other households were included as economic activities. Unpaid domestic work in children’s own homes was considered non-economic; these activities included cooking, cleaning, washing dishes, taking care of young children or the elderly, and shopping. See National Bureau of Statistics, Child Labor in Tanzania, Country Report: 2000/2001 Integrated Labour Force and Child Labour Survey, no date, 10, 22, 39.
[3824] Ibid., 22, 34.
[3825] Ibid., 53-54.
[3826] M. J. Gonza and P. Moshi, Tanzania Children Working in Commercial Agriculture-Tea : A Rapid Assessment, ILO-IPEC, Geneva, January 2002.
[3827] George S. Nchahaga, Children Working in Commercial Agriculture- Coffee: A Rapid Assessment, ILO-IPEC, Geneva, 2002, 29-32.
[3828] ILO-IPEC, Investigating the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Tanzania: Rapid Assessments in the Informal Sector, Mining, Child Prostitution and Commercial Agriculture (Draft Report), Dar es Salaam, 2000, 4.
[3829] ILO-IPEC, Tanzania: Focusing on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, Dar es Salaam, 2001.
[3830] A. Masudi, A. Ishumi, F. Mbeo, and W. Sambo, Tanzania Child Labour in Commercial Agriculture-Tobacco: A Rapid Assessment, ILO-IPEC, Geneva, November 2001.
[3831] U.S. Embassy- Dar es Salaam, unclassified telegram no. 1653, August 24, 2004.
[3832] Children ages 7 to 13 years work in mine pits an average of 4 to 5 hours per day, while children ages 14 to 18 years work on average 7 hours per day. J. A. Mwami, A.J. Sanga, and J. Nyoni, Tanzania Children Labour in Mining: A Rapid Assessment, ILO-IPEC, Geneva, January 2002, 37-39. Children, known as “snake boys,” crawl through narrow tunnels in unregulated gemstone mines to help position mining equipment and explosives. See U.S. Embassy- Dar es Salaam, unclassified telegram no. 1653. Children ages 10 to 13 years work an average of 14 hours per day in bars and restaurants near mines. See Mwami, Sanga, and Nyoni, Tanzania Children Labour in Mining, 37-39.
[3833] C. Kadonya, M. Madihi, and S. Mtwana, Tanzania Child Labour in the Informal Sector: A Rapid Assessment, ILO-IPEC, Geneva, January 2002, 33-48.
[3834] U.S. Department of Labor, By the Sweat and Toil of Children: Efforts to Eliminate Child Labor (Volume 5), Washington, D.C., 1998, 165. See also ILO, Baseline study and attitude survey on child labour and its worst forms, Dar es Salaam, June 2003, 10.
[3835]U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices- 2003: Tanzania, Washington, D.C., May 24, 2004, Section 6d; available from http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27756.htm. See also ILO, Baseline study and attitude survey on child labour and its worst forms, 10. Research published by the Tanzania Media Women’s Association suggests that 60 percent of female domestic servants, or “housegirls,” are sexually abused in the workplace. See Daniel Dickinson, Tanzania 'housegirls' face sexual abuse, BBC News, May 10, 2003 [cited May 24, 2004]; available from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3015223.stm. In 2000, a survey indicated that children younger than 17 years comprise 80 percent of domestic workers in Tanzania. See Bill Rau for ILO-IPEC, Combating Child Labour and HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa, no. 1, Geneva, July 2002.
[3836] U.S. Embassy- Dar es Salaam, unclassified telegram no. 1948, August 18, 2003. See also The Protection Project, "Tanzania," in Human Rights Report on Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children: A Country-by-Country Report on a Contemporary Form of Slavery, March 2002; available from http://209.190.246.239/ver2/cr/Tanzania.pdf. UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 44 of the Convention: Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child: United Republic of Tanzania, CRC/C/15/Add.156, United Nations, Geneva, July 2001, para 62; available from http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/6828b7389ae0a66fc1256a7600453ede?Opendocument.
[3837] E. Kamala, E. Lusinde, J. Millinga, J. Mwaitula, M.J. Gonza, M.G. Juma, and H.A. Khamis, Tanzania Children in Prostitution: A Rapid Assessment, ILO-IPEC, Geneva, November 2001, 23. See also Kadonya, Madihi, and Mtwana, Tanzania Child Labour in the Informal Sector.
[3838] Kamala, Lusinde, Millinga, Mwaitula, Gonza, Juma, and Khamis, Tanzania Children in Prostitution, 20.
[3839] U.S. Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report- 2004: Tanzania, Washington, D.C., June 2004; available from http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2004/33189.htm. See also ILO, Baseline study and attitude survey on child labour and its worst forms., page 24.
[3840] Such children are often lured with false promises of work in urban areas as house girls, barmaids, and in hair salons. See Kamala, Lusinde, Millinga, Mwaitula, Gonza, Juma, and Khamis, Tanzania Children in Prostitution, 20. See also U.S. Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report: Tanzania.
[3841] U.S. Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report: Tanzania.
[3842] U.S. Department of State, Country Reports- 2003: Tanzania, Section 5.
[3843] World Bank, World Development Indicators 2004 [CD-ROM], Washington D.C., 2004.
[3844] School attendance peaked in the 10 to 14 age group, or the age of completion of primary school. See National Bureau of Statistics, 2000/2001 Integrated Labour Force Survey, 24, 25.
[3845] U.S. Embassy- Dar es Salaam, unclassified telegram no. 1653.
[3846] Ibid, U.S. Department of State, Country Reports- 2003: Tanzania, Section 5.
[3847] The Employment Ordinance states that any employer found to be in violation of child labor laws is subject to a fine of 2,000 shillings (USD 1.93). See FXConverter, Currency Conversion Results, [cited November 3, 2004]; available from http://www.oanda.com/convert/classic.) and/or 3 months of imprisonment. See Law Reform Commission of Tanzania, Report of the Commission on the Law Relating to Children in Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, 1997, 131-32. See also United Republic of Tanzania, Information on Efforts by Tanzania to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor, letter to USDOL USDOL official, October 4, 2002. References to the “apparent age” of a child are based on language in the Employment Ordinance of 1955. The Ordinance does not provide a specific definition for the term “apparent age.” See Child Labor Research Initiative, Tanzania Child Labor Legislation: Employment Ordinance, 1955-Part IX Recruitment, University of Iowa, 2003 [cited May 26, 2004]; available from http://db.uichr.org/docs/530.html.
[3848] Law Reform Commission of Tanzania, Report of the Commission, 131.
[3849] UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 44 of the Convention: Initial Reports of States Party due in 1993, CRC/C/8/Add.14/Rev.1, United Nations, Geneva, September 25, 2000, para 355; available from http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/898586b1dc7b4043c1256a450044f331/a4d65ef2bb2bc3b6c12569cb003aa328/$FILE/G0044600.pdf.
[3850] Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977, Chapter 1, Section 25(2); available from http://www.tanzania.go.tz/images/theconstitutionoftheunitedrepublicoftanzania1.pdf.
[3851] Section 130 of the Penal Code. See Child Labor Research Initiative, Tanzania Child Labor Legislation: Sexual Offences Special Provisions Act, 1998-Part II: Amendment of the Penal Code, University of Iowa, 2003 [cited May 26, 2004]; available from http://db.uichr.org/docs/449.html.
[3852] U.S. Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report- 2003: Tanzania, Washington, D.C., June 2003; available from http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2003/.
[3853] National Roundtable Discussion on the Time-Bound Program on the Worst Forms of Child Labor, Time-Bound Program on the Worst Forms of Child Labor in Tanzania: Summary of the Institutional and Policy Study, April, 2001, 15-16.
[3854] ILO-IPEC, Supporting the Time-Bound Program on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor in Tanzania, project document, Geneva, 2001, 17-18. See also U.S. Embassy- Dar es Salaam, unclassified telegram no. 1948, para 10. U.S. Embassy- Dar es Salaam, unclassified telegram no. 2966, October 23, 2002.
[3855] U.S. Department of State, Country Reports- 2003: Tanzania, Section 6d.
[3856] This project, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, focuses on 11 target districts. ILO-IPEC, Supporting the Time-Bound Program, vii and 27. See President of the United Republic of Tanzania, His Excellency Mr. Benjamin Mkapa, Address at the Special High-level Session on the Launch of the Time Bound Programme on the Worst Forms of Child Labour in the Republic of El Salvador, the Kingdom of Nepal and the United Republic of Tanzania, June 12, 2001; available from http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/relm/ilc/ilc89/a-mkapa.htm.
[3857] ILO-IPEC, Action Programme to Protect Working Children and to Combat and Eliminate Child Labour by the Child Labour Unit, Ministry of Labour, Youth Development and Sports, ILO-IPEC, Dar es Salaam, October 21, 2002.
[3858] ILO-IPEC, Tanzania Timebound Program June 2004 Technical Status Report, Dar es Salaam, June 2004.
[3859] ILO-IPEC, Programme to Provide Basic Education to 16,000 Children Withdrawn from and/or at Risk of Getting into Worst Forms of Child Labour in 11 Target Districts in Tanzania by Ministry of Education and Culture, ILO-IPEC, Dar es Salaam, November 10, 2003. ILO-IPEC, Action Programme for Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor through the Provision of Vocational Skills Training in Eleven TBP Target Districts in Tanzania by Vocational Education and Training Authority (VETA), ILO-IPEC, Dar es Salaam, November 11, 2003. The government aims to scale up nationally the provision of basic education through COBET, and eliminate gender stereotypes by undertaking a review of curriculum, text books, and classroom practices. IRINNews, Tanzania: UNICEF calls for more efforts to educate girls, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, December 11, 2003 [cited February 12, 2004]; available from http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?reportID=38364.
[3860] IRINNews, Tanzania: Japan boosts basic education for out-of-school youth, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, December 18, 2003 [cited February 12, 2004]; available from http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?reportID=38486.
[3861] Other countries participating in the project include Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, and Zambia. See ILO-IPEC, Prevention, Withdrawal and Rehabilitation of Children Engaged in Hazardous Work in the Commercial Agricultural Sector in Africa, program document, November 1, 2000.
[3862] Education Development Center, Status Report: Time Bound Programme on Eliminating Child Labour in Tanzania, Geneva, July 2004. The EDC project is supporting the operation of 186 Mambo Elimu learning centers in Tanzania where approximately 875 children are currently receiving basic education through a radio-based distant learning curriculum. See Education Development Center, Technical Progress Report: Time Bound Programme on Eliminating Child Labour in Tanzania, Geneva, April 9, 2004.
[3863] United Republic of Tanzania, Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper: Progress Report 2000/2001, August 14, 2001, 4, 43. See also ILO-IPEC, IPEC Action Against Child Labour 2000-2001: Progress and Future Priorities, paper, Geneva, January 2002, 15; available from http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/ipec/about/implementation/ipecreport.pdf.
[3864] Government of Tanzania, The United Republic of Tanzania Poverty Monitoring Master Plan - Tanzania, ILO, [online] 2001 [cited August 15, 2003]; available from http://www.logos-net.net/ilo/150_base/en/init/tan_2.htm.
[3865] United Republic of Tanzania, Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper: Progress Report 2000/2001, 4, 44.
[3866] UNESCO, Education for All 2000 Assessment: Country Reports- Tanzania, prepared by Ministry of Education and Culture, pursuant to UN General Assembly Resolution 52/84, 1999; available from http://www2.unesco.org/wef/countryreports/tanzania/contents.html.
[3867] Ibid., 2.2 See also U.S. Embassy- Dar es Salaam, unclassified telegram no. 2966.
[3868] Government of the United Republic of Tanzania, Education Sector Development Programme: Primary Education Development Plan (2002-2006), Dar es Salaam, July 2001, iv, 21; available from http://www.tanedu.org/educationsctordevelopment1.pdf. The government has received a USD 150 million credit from the World Bank to support this program. See World Bank, Tanzania-Primary Education Development Program, October 10, 2001; available from
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:20012776~menuPK:34466~pagePK:
64003015~piPK:64003012~theSitePK:4607,00.html.
[3869] IRINNews, Tanzania: UNICEF calls for more efforts to educate girls.
[3870] World Bank, World Bank Announces First Group Of Countries For ‘Education For All’ Fast Track, press release, Washington, D.C., June 12, 2002; available from
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:20049839~menuPK:34463~pagePK:
34370~piPK:34424,00.html.
Source: http://www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2004/tanzania.htm
Housegirls - High risk for HIV/Aids transmissions
Knowledge, attitudes and practices of housegirls on HIV/STDs transmission and risk factors.
Mwambu W; International Conference on AIDS.
Int Conf AIDS. 1998; 12: 1018-9 (abstract no. 60103).
Upendo AIDS Information & Counselling Centre, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.
BACKGROUND: Housegirls in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania are not yet categorized as high risky group. These unnoticed young women are vulnerable and prone to HIV/STDs infection. Due to serious violation of rights of the girl-child, which is probably the closest form of slavery, hundreds of thousands of young girls aged 14-20 years are made to work all day, washing, cooking, cleaning, doing child-care and other tasks, usually only in return for food, lodging and a small salary. All these contribute to subjecting them to sexual abuse by employers, adults within the household or neighbours. After the findings of a cross-sectional case control study on risk factors of HIV/STDs among housegirls, a preventive IEC/BCC intervention is carried out to create awareness and empowerment to reduce further spread of HIV/STDs infection. House to house visits and contacts followed by HIV/STDs educational video shows to households is being done. These shows are accompanied by distribution of HLMs-posters, leaflets, newsletters and condoms. Peer educators start from what the group knows building up and summarizing with questions, answers and discussions. In twelve months a target group of 2500 people have been reached. Quick Assessment of the intervention revealed that 98% have indicated learning more effectively about HIV/STDs transmission. 75% indicated desire to change behaviour towards a positive attitude. 50% acknowledged empowerment to negotiate safer sex with their regular boyfriends, partner notification, counselling and voluntary screening. An increased number of people dropping in for condoms (60%), HLMs (80%), request for video shows (75%) is an evident indicator of positive outcome of the intervention. 6% are now regular clients while 0.16% (4 housegirls) have tested HIV+ as a result of earlier indicated reasons. One male adult of a household from 0.16% above tested HIV+. However, 20% (17% women/3% male) employers are registering the concept of openness and transparency, employer-housegirls relationship for easy and positive interraction necessary for preventive measures to reduce the spread of HIV/STDs infection. EVALUATION INDICATES THAT: HIV/STDs IEC is easily welcomed and more understood by visual aids complimenting to hearing and reading especially to illiterate or semi-illiterate such as housegirls. Shyness and stigma is also minimized. A continued intervention is planned.
Source: http://gateway.nlm.nih.gov/MeetingAbstracts/ma?f=102232054.html
Mwambu W; International Conference on AIDS.
Int Conf AIDS. 1998; 12: 1018-9 (abstract no. 60103).
Upendo AIDS Information & Counselling Centre, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.
BACKGROUND: Housegirls in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania are not yet categorized as high risky group. These unnoticed young women are vulnerable and prone to HIV/STDs infection. Due to serious violation of rights of the girl-child, which is probably the closest form of slavery, hundreds of thousands of young girls aged 14-20 years are made to work all day, washing, cooking, cleaning, doing child-care and other tasks, usually only in return for food, lodging and a small salary. All these contribute to subjecting them to sexual abuse by employers, adults within the household or neighbours. After the findings of a cross-sectional case control study on risk factors of HIV/STDs among housegirls, a preventive IEC/BCC intervention is carried out to create awareness and empowerment to reduce further spread of HIV/STDs infection. House to house visits and contacts followed by HIV/STDs educational video shows to households is being done. These shows are accompanied by distribution of HLMs-posters, leaflets, newsletters and condoms. Peer educators start from what the group knows building up and summarizing with questions, answers and discussions. In twelve months a target group of 2500 people have been reached. Quick Assessment of the intervention revealed that 98% have indicated learning more effectively about HIV/STDs transmission. 75% indicated desire to change behaviour towards a positive attitude. 50% acknowledged empowerment to negotiate safer sex with their regular boyfriends, partner notification, counselling and voluntary screening. An increased number of people dropping in for condoms (60%), HLMs (80%), request for video shows (75%) is an evident indicator of positive outcome of the intervention. 6% are now regular clients while 0.16% (4 housegirls) have tested HIV+ as a result of earlier indicated reasons. One male adult of a household from 0.16% above tested HIV+. However, 20% (17% women/3% male) employers are registering the concept of openness and transparency, employer-housegirls relationship for easy and positive interraction necessary for preventive measures to reduce the spread of HIV/STDs infection. EVALUATION INDICATES THAT: HIV/STDs IEC is easily welcomed and more understood by visual aids complimenting to hearing and reading especially to illiterate or semi-illiterate such as housegirls. Shyness and stigma is also minimized. A continued intervention is planned.
Source: http://gateway.nlm.nih.gov/MeetingAbstracts/ma?f=102232054.html
Leaders are most responsible for runing the future of young girls in Tanzania
Research finds leaders responsible for schoolgirl pregnancies
By Lucas Lukumbo
27th September 2010EmailPrintComments
TAMWA Executive Secretary, Ananilea NkyaA research on school pregnancies the country has revealed that leaders, both political and government are to blame for schoolgirl pregnancies and the deteriorating learning environment in schools. The research conducted by The Tanzania Media Women Association (TAMWA) involving 3O journalists from 25 media houses in the country found out that in five-year period (2004- 2010) very few leaders visited ward schools in the country and those who did so were politically motivated- donating items or money without helping people solve their social problems like schoolgirl pregnancies.
TAMWA’s report was unveiled yesterday by its Executive Secretary, Ananilea Nkya and our Staff Writer was at the function and filed this story…
The research was prompted by the fact that schoolgirls’ pregnancies is among main educational problems for girls in the country.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, in the five-year period between 2004 and 2008 a total of 28,590 school girls in the country left school because of pregnancy. Out of those 11,599 were secondary school girls and 16,991 primary school girls.
The report shows that in secondary schools the problem of school pregnancies increased from 772 in 2004 to 4,965 incidents in 2008.
“This is a tragedy affecting the education sector in the country today,” the TAMWA Executive Director said.
Working hand-in-glove with 30 journalists from 25 media institutions in the country TAMWA conducted a journalistic research on the problem with the aim of collecting information and views by various stakeholders including Members of Parliament, councilors, teachers, students and the society at large on ways to find solutions for the national problem.
The reporters interviewed various personalities comprising, among others, Members of Parliament, ward councilors, district Commissioners, district executives, ward and village executives. Others are students, pregnant school girls, parents and guardians and others who were able to explain about the issue.
Others interviewed included the court, (Regional and District Resident Magistrates), headmasters or headmistresses. The regions covered by the research were
Ruvuma, Lindi, Mbeya, Zanzibar South, Pemba North, Tabora, Mwanza, Mara, Dodoma, Tanga, Kigoma, Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salaam, Manyara, Iringa and Shinyanga, Morogoro.
In many areas reports show that despite the fact that the pregnancy problem is everywhere, there is a big disparity between urban and rural schoolgirls. Both urban and rural schoolgirls get pregnant, but those pregnancies in the urban settings are aborted before people realize them. Many rural schools are very far from health facilities which could be used for abortion.
According to people interviewed, illegal abortion is one of the most serious criminal offences committed by medical practitioners and schoolgirls more frequently especially in urban areas. Because schoolgirls know for sure that their pregnancies would be removed, they are not afraid of involving themselves with sex.
Factors that contribute to schoolgirl pregnancies, which the research has found out include, not having food rations at school, lack of dormitories for school girls which means that students are forced to live in unsecured places- an opportunity for pregnancies.
Walking long distances from home to schools is another problem. There are places where students walk as far as 20 kilometres to school, TAMWA report says.
There is also a problem of schoolboys and schoolgirls renting rooms together in remote locations which give them complete freedom to behave as they like.
Traditions and customs of some of the tribes in the country do not allow parents to discuss maternal health with their daughters and that many parents are in the low income bracket and therefore unable to satisfy the school needs of their daughters.
This contributes greatly to schoolgirls plunging themselves into sex in order to bail themselves out from financial crisis.
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) practice and girl initiation in some tribes in the country also contributes to immoral practices. After such a ritual is done, a girl is told that she is now mature and can now try sex and even be married, the report says.
Lack of enough teachers is also a problem. When teachers are not there in school, they create room for idling school girls to discuss petty issues including sexual affairs, according to research findings.
Parents are also not abreast to educational trends. This makes some parents find potential husbands for their daughters while still in schools for quest of dowry which is often cattle.
Recreational halls and busy centres being near schools is a problem. Students could be easily be attracted to such places and indulge themselves in sex.
Some parents staying in their farms far away from their homes leaving their children to care for themselves is also a problem.
Many students interviewed accused some teachers of luring them to sex.
While many teachers and parents are too secretive in matters concerning sex, many girls are absorbed by peer pressure.
This research, according to TAMWA has helped society to recognize that despite government’ positive motive to start schools in all wards countrywide, it did not make adequate preparations. Big discrepancies in all basic requirements have far reaching negative implications in education for children.
While inaugurating the report, the TAMWA Executive Director, Ananilea Nkya said that leaders from the councilors to the national level were all to blame for the situation, saying that many of the problems were within the means of the leaders.
She said some of the leaders even went to the extent of making love with secondary school leaders.
“We have received some information that in some parts of the country some parliamentary aspirants are said to have impregnated school children. I call upon people not to vote for such people,” she said.
The report suggested that school pregnancy should be one of the main agendas for politicians especially now as the nation goes for general elections. Contestants should have election manifestos which advocate for the rights of the girl child and her right to education.
One of the things which have been underlined in this research is the importance of helping pregnant schoolgirls so that they could continue with studies after delivering.
However there is a proposal that children who became pregnant must be back to school. The research has also shown that girls who once got pregnant and later allowed to enter school again in a different school reformed and passed well their examinations.
The TAMWA official said that the overall strategy for the government must be to let education in Tanzania be free to all.
“This is possible and would eliminate many of the prevailing problems in schools especially for the schoolgirls,” she said.
By all means this research is an important working tool for politicians, activists and all stakeholders in the education sector. If used judiciously, this research would help the nation in its process of raising the standard of education in Tanzania.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=21452
By Lucas Lukumbo
27th September 2010EmailPrintComments
TAMWA Executive Secretary, Ananilea NkyaA research on school pregnancies the country has revealed that leaders, both political and government are to blame for schoolgirl pregnancies and the deteriorating learning environment in schools. The research conducted by The Tanzania Media Women Association (TAMWA) involving 3O journalists from 25 media houses in the country found out that in five-year period (2004- 2010) very few leaders visited ward schools in the country and those who did so were politically motivated- donating items or money without helping people solve their social problems like schoolgirl pregnancies.
TAMWA’s report was unveiled yesterday by its Executive Secretary, Ananilea Nkya and our Staff Writer was at the function and filed this story…
The research was prompted by the fact that schoolgirls’ pregnancies is among main educational problems for girls in the country.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, in the five-year period between 2004 and 2008 a total of 28,590 school girls in the country left school because of pregnancy. Out of those 11,599 were secondary school girls and 16,991 primary school girls.
The report shows that in secondary schools the problem of school pregnancies increased from 772 in 2004 to 4,965 incidents in 2008.
“This is a tragedy affecting the education sector in the country today,” the TAMWA Executive Director said.
Working hand-in-glove with 30 journalists from 25 media institutions in the country TAMWA conducted a journalistic research on the problem with the aim of collecting information and views by various stakeholders including Members of Parliament, councilors, teachers, students and the society at large on ways to find solutions for the national problem.
The reporters interviewed various personalities comprising, among others, Members of Parliament, ward councilors, district Commissioners, district executives, ward and village executives. Others are students, pregnant school girls, parents and guardians and others who were able to explain about the issue.
Others interviewed included the court, (Regional and District Resident Magistrates), headmasters or headmistresses. The regions covered by the research were
Ruvuma, Lindi, Mbeya, Zanzibar South, Pemba North, Tabora, Mwanza, Mara, Dodoma, Tanga, Kigoma, Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salaam, Manyara, Iringa and Shinyanga, Morogoro.
In many areas reports show that despite the fact that the pregnancy problem is everywhere, there is a big disparity between urban and rural schoolgirls. Both urban and rural schoolgirls get pregnant, but those pregnancies in the urban settings are aborted before people realize them. Many rural schools are very far from health facilities which could be used for abortion.
According to people interviewed, illegal abortion is one of the most serious criminal offences committed by medical practitioners and schoolgirls more frequently especially in urban areas. Because schoolgirls know for sure that their pregnancies would be removed, they are not afraid of involving themselves with sex.
Factors that contribute to schoolgirl pregnancies, which the research has found out include, not having food rations at school, lack of dormitories for school girls which means that students are forced to live in unsecured places- an opportunity for pregnancies.
Walking long distances from home to schools is another problem. There are places where students walk as far as 20 kilometres to school, TAMWA report says.
There is also a problem of schoolboys and schoolgirls renting rooms together in remote locations which give them complete freedom to behave as they like.
Traditions and customs of some of the tribes in the country do not allow parents to discuss maternal health with their daughters and that many parents are in the low income bracket and therefore unable to satisfy the school needs of their daughters.
This contributes greatly to schoolgirls plunging themselves into sex in order to bail themselves out from financial crisis.
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) practice and girl initiation in some tribes in the country also contributes to immoral practices. After such a ritual is done, a girl is told that she is now mature and can now try sex and even be married, the report says.
Lack of enough teachers is also a problem. When teachers are not there in school, they create room for idling school girls to discuss petty issues including sexual affairs, according to research findings.
Parents are also not abreast to educational trends. This makes some parents find potential husbands for their daughters while still in schools for quest of dowry which is often cattle.
Recreational halls and busy centres being near schools is a problem. Students could be easily be attracted to such places and indulge themselves in sex.
Some parents staying in their farms far away from their homes leaving their children to care for themselves is also a problem.
Many students interviewed accused some teachers of luring them to sex.
While many teachers and parents are too secretive in matters concerning sex, many girls are absorbed by peer pressure.
This research, according to TAMWA has helped society to recognize that despite government’ positive motive to start schools in all wards countrywide, it did not make adequate preparations. Big discrepancies in all basic requirements have far reaching negative implications in education for children.
While inaugurating the report, the TAMWA Executive Director, Ananilea Nkya said that leaders from the councilors to the national level were all to blame for the situation, saying that many of the problems were within the means of the leaders.
She said some of the leaders even went to the extent of making love with secondary school leaders.
“We have received some information that in some parts of the country some parliamentary aspirants are said to have impregnated school children. I call upon people not to vote for such people,” she said.
The report suggested that school pregnancy should be one of the main agendas for politicians especially now as the nation goes for general elections. Contestants should have election manifestos which advocate for the rights of the girl child and her right to education.
One of the things which have been underlined in this research is the importance of helping pregnant schoolgirls so that they could continue with studies after delivering.
However there is a proposal that children who became pregnant must be back to school. The research has also shown that girls who once got pregnant and later allowed to enter school again in a different school reformed and passed well their examinations.
The TAMWA official said that the overall strategy for the government must be to let education in Tanzania be free to all.
“This is possible and would eliminate many of the prevailing problems in schools especially for the schoolgirls,” she said.
By all means this research is an important working tool for politicians, activists and all stakeholders in the education sector. If used judiciously, this research would help the nation in its process of raising the standard of education in Tanzania.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=21452
Does pregnancy mean disqualification for education?
4 schoolgirls barred from Form IV exams
By Rose Mwalongo
Three were allegedly pregnant; one reportedly gave birth recently
At least four girls from Mdandamo Secondary School in Mshangamo village, Ruvuma Region were barred from doing the second paper of the National Form Four examinations which began yesterday.
The four were expelled from the examination room because three of them were reportedly pregnant while one was said to have delivered a couple few weeks ago and was ordered to sit for her final examinations as she had already been registered.
Two of the girls were identified as Martha Ngonyani and Adeliema Pili. Another was identified by only one name of Mary.
It was reported that the four did the Mathematics exam, after which they took a break. But when they returned for the Civics paper, they were barred from the examination, room by the school headmaster who claimed that he had been instructed by his superiors to take the action.
Elizabeth Ngonyani, the mother of Adeliema Pili, told The Guardian by telephone yesterday that the four students were reportedly ordered by the school headmaster, whose name could not be immediately obtained to leave the room, claiming that he had been instructed by his top bosses to bar them.
“My daughter and the three other girls had been allowed to sit for the examination. I am now surprised to hear that they have been ordered out of class,” said Ngonyani.
When contacted, the Ruvuma Regional Education Officer who identified herself by one name of Mkonongo, said she was on a trip.
Asked to comment on whether she had issued such the order barring the students, Mkonongo said: “Aren’t you the one who called me last week? Didn’t I instruct you to go to the ministry?” Mkonongo asked before hanging up on the reporter.
The move to bar the students comes hardly a month after the government through its Deputy Minister for Education and Vocational Training Mwantumu Mahiza issued a statement on September 4 this year saying pregnant girls would be allowed to sit for the national examination. Mahiza issued the statement a day before the Standard Seven National Examination which took place on September 5 this year.
The Guardian managed to talk to Mahiza yesterday, who speaking from Kibondo, said the statement remained valid.
“We already gave the instructions that pregnant girls who had been registered should only remain at home during classes, but should be allowed to sit for their final examinations. Whatever has happened in Ruvuma would be their own decisions; for we had already issued our instructions on the issue,” said Mahiza.
Meanwhile the Dar es Salaam Special Zone Police commander, Suleiman Kova said the Form IV examinations were done peacefully.
Other schools visited acknowledged that the exercise had started off well. The Gerezani Secondary School Headmistress in Ilala district, Silvia Lyimo confirmed that there were no incidents during the exams.
She said the 145 candidates at her school were well prepared and started their exams around 8.00am in the morning under tight security provided by police officers.
Ally Mtupa, the Second master of Oslo Secondary School in Kibamba-Kisarawe District in the Coast Region told this paper the candidates who were supposed to sit for exams were 50 but only 48 (24 girls and 24 boys) candidates qualified to do the exams.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
www.ippmedia.com
By Rose Mwalongo
Three were allegedly pregnant; one reportedly gave birth recently
At least four girls from Mdandamo Secondary School in Mshangamo village, Ruvuma Region were barred from doing the second paper of the National Form Four examinations which began yesterday.
The four were expelled from the examination room because three of them were reportedly pregnant while one was said to have delivered a couple few weeks ago and was ordered to sit for her final examinations as she had already been registered.
Two of the girls were identified as Martha Ngonyani and Adeliema Pili. Another was identified by only one name of Mary.
It was reported that the four did the Mathematics exam, after which they took a break. But when they returned for the Civics paper, they were barred from the examination, room by the school headmaster who claimed that he had been instructed by his superiors to take the action.
Elizabeth Ngonyani, the mother of Adeliema Pili, told The Guardian by telephone yesterday that the four students were reportedly ordered by the school headmaster, whose name could not be immediately obtained to leave the room, claiming that he had been instructed by his top bosses to bar them.
“My daughter and the three other girls had been allowed to sit for the examination. I am now surprised to hear that they have been ordered out of class,” said Ngonyani.
When contacted, the Ruvuma Regional Education Officer who identified herself by one name of Mkonongo, said she was on a trip.
Asked to comment on whether she had issued such the order barring the students, Mkonongo said: “Aren’t you the one who called me last week? Didn’t I instruct you to go to the ministry?” Mkonongo asked before hanging up on the reporter.
The move to bar the students comes hardly a month after the government through its Deputy Minister for Education and Vocational Training Mwantumu Mahiza issued a statement on September 4 this year saying pregnant girls would be allowed to sit for the national examination. Mahiza issued the statement a day before the Standard Seven National Examination which took place on September 5 this year.
The Guardian managed to talk to Mahiza yesterday, who speaking from Kibondo, said the statement remained valid.
“We already gave the instructions that pregnant girls who had been registered should only remain at home during classes, but should be allowed to sit for their final examinations. Whatever has happened in Ruvuma would be their own decisions; for we had already issued our instructions on the issue,” said Mahiza.
Meanwhile the Dar es Salaam Special Zone Police commander, Suleiman Kova said the Form IV examinations were done peacefully.
Other schools visited acknowledged that the exercise had started off well. The Gerezani Secondary School Headmistress in Ilala district, Silvia Lyimo confirmed that there were no incidents during the exams.
She said the 145 candidates at her school were well prepared and started their exams around 8.00am in the morning under tight security provided by police officers.
Ally Mtupa, the Second master of Oslo Secondary School in Kibamba-Kisarawe District in the Coast Region told this paper the candidates who were supposed to sit for exams were 50 but only 48 (24 girls and 24 boys) candidates qualified to do the exams.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
www.ippmedia.com
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Development - The two edged sword?
I remember the times I used to sit down and listen to my grandfather telling stories of the '' good old days'' in Moshi. In the ''good old days'' owning agricultural land and livestock was considered a measure of someone's wealth.
In order to be able to cultivate huge plots of land and keep many livestock, men married as many wives as they could afford. The value of a ''good wife'' was measured by her ability to work hard and to bear children.
A man was responsible in protecting and providing for his family. Wives were responsible in supporting their husband to maintain family values, uphold traditions and ensure economic prosperity for the family.
With globalization the ''old days'' are slowly disappearing. Polygamy is being frowned upon as ''uncivilised.''
The old customs around polygamy were respectful and an extension of good will between families in community.
To ensure peace and prosperity within the family, the first wife had to approve the addition of the second wife, and also participated in the family negotiations before the marriage was approved by both sides of the family.
Thereafter, the hierachy within the household was ranked from top to bottom starting with husband, first wife, second wife and so on.
Peace and harmony was a way of life. The wives worked hard on the fields from dawn till evening, and yet they still managed to perform their household duties proudly and efficiently.
The agricultural produce were sold and shared among family members. The pride of the head of the family came from his wives looking healthy, happy and well cared for.
His success depended on his wives working hard and upholding family honour. The wives pride came from the success of their husband among his peers. The wisdom and wealth of their husband, also increased the wives status within the community.
Nowadays, polygamy is frowned upon. But for Africa, it worked well enough for centuries.
Your comments?
In order to be able to cultivate huge plots of land and keep many livestock, men married as many wives as they could afford. The value of a ''good wife'' was measured by her ability to work hard and to bear children.
A man was responsible in protecting and providing for his family. Wives were responsible in supporting their husband to maintain family values, uphold traditions and ensure economic prosperity for the family.
With globalization the ''old days'' are slowly disappearing. Polygamy is being frowned upon as ''uncivilised.''
The old customs around polygamy were respectful and an extension of good will between families in community.
To ensure peace and prosperity within the family, the first wife had to approve the addition of the second wife, and also participated in the family negotiations before the marriage was approved by both sides of the family.
Thereafter, the hierachy within the household was ranked from top to bottom starting with husband, first wife, second wife and so on.
Peace and harmony was a way of life. The wives worked hard on the fields from dawn till evening, and yet they still managed to perform their household duties proudly and efficiently.
The agricultural produce were sold and shared among family members. The pride of the head of the family came from his wives looking healthy, happy and well cared for.
His success depended on his wives working hard and upholding family honour. The wives pride came from the success of their husband among his peers. The wisdom and wealth of their husband, also increased the wives status within the community.
Nowadays, polygamy is frowned upon. But for Africa, it worked well enough for centuries.
Your comments?
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