Unfinished business a case of pastoralists societies in Tanzania by Sophia
Mwakagenda
Early and forced marriage to girls of very young age has been a greater problem for
number of years in Tanzania around most of the pastoralists’ societies living in
Dodoma, Manyara, Arusha, Tabora, Shinyanga, Mwanza, Zanzibar and other regions
of Tanzania. Maasai, Sukuma and most of communities living in Zanzibar are the
most tribes experiencing the problem of early and forced marriages of young girls of
below sixteen years of age, where most of them are not mature enough to perform
their gender roles like reproductive role and taking care of their families.
For this reason has led into family crisis where by a number of girls lost their life
during delivery due to immature reproductive organ which are not capable of
facilitating to deliver safe, although some of them deliver safely however their health
condition become at stake. Number of girls has been dropping from schooling, in
2011 some 32 cases of forced marriages were recorded (Ministry of Education 2011) and
facing severe torcher from their husband because they are not grown up enough to
perform their roles as mothers, duties obligated to them by families are beyond their
capabilities as child who were supposed to get parental care they become mothers.
(TAMWA 2011)
Government, Civil society organizations, Private sector and communities has been
fighting against this problem since then by establishing laws and enactment to
protect child health, dignity and other affairs, child protection policies, early and
forced marriage campaign by NGOs, and combined efforts of all parties to eradicate
poor traditions and customs so as to protect our child from any form of injustice.
Various reports has been issued by government, private sector and Civil Society
Organizations on the situation of early and forced marriage in Tanzania and SubSaharan countries, showing that the rate of the problem is decreasing approaching
38 percent and 4 million girls get married before they reach their 18th birthday(Plan
international 2012), while this is not the case on the ground in most places girls of
very young age are still suffering and those to hold accountable for the situation are
left freely as if they have done nothing wrong.
Real situation on the ground
The situation is still worse where in some areas elders, families and teachers
facilitate the process of dropping girls from schools and giving them for high bride
price to rich elders as part of their custom and selfish culture of obtaining wealth
through cheap means.
In October 2012, in Tanga region Mkinga district there is live a case around Maasai
community an old man of about 75 years of age married by force to a very young girl
of 12 years of age. A head teacher was bribed for 200,000 Tanzanian shillings so as
to free a girl from school and get married to that old man at high bride price paid to
parents. Efforts has been made to free the girl from such marriage by reporting to the
police to take action, and find a place to bring a girl for care and studying because
the girl proved has forced and she wants to continue with her studies.
This case study and the like forms the topic of this article that our business fighting
against early and forced marriage to girls of very young age is not finished, more
efforts are needed to make the end of this problem. Girl child education and
protection is still at stake in some parts of communities in Tanzania let us fight hard
to rescue the Tanzanian girls.