The Girl-Child and Government Service Provision.pdf - Tanzania ...

Policewoman, for example, had 100 per cent support in theurban location but only 20 per cent in the provincial areas.When asked how boys and girls are perceived in the communityand if girls have as much opportunity to achieve asboys, parents were generally positive. Over 74 per cent saidthat girls have as much opportunity, while 25 per cent saidthis was not the case. The weighting showed more optimismin the urban area (90 per cent) and not as muchconfidence expressed in the provincial area (67 per cent). Ofthe 19 options identified for girls to make a contribution tothe future of their country, the highest single category wasin the area of education, with health care a close second andnational defense third. While there were similarities in supportfor education and health, there was a marked differencein support for girls contributing to national defense (urban95 per cent and provincial 20 per cent).Children’s workBoys and girls both work in the home. The time varies, withboys working between one and two hours a day (with mostcloser to one hour). Girls work two to four hours a day,with most working three hours. Parents indicated that 98per cent of their children also work outside the home. It ismore common for children to work longer in the provincialareas. According to the survey 19 provincial childrenwere said to work between four and eight hours a daycompared to three girls working four to six hours a day inthe urban area.The families had ambitions for boys: doctor (26 per cent),policeman (23 per cent) and teacher (21 per cent); for girls:teacher (45 per cent), doctor (16 per cent) or seamstress(16 per cent). In the urban area the most supported professionfor a boy was policeman; in provincial areas it wasteacher. For girls, both areas identified teacher as the preferredvocation, while 25 per cent of the provincial familiessupported the role of seamstress for girls. This role receivedno support in the urban area despite the proximityof garment factories.Children’s responses to thesame questionsThe 180 children in the sample group were from the samevillages as the parents who were interviewed. In general,the children’s answers followed the same pattern as theparents’ responses, with a few exceptions. They saw parentalattitudes creating barriers for girls in their developmentas a greater issue. Children saw more opportunities inroles to which both males and females could aspire. Thosecareers with over 10 per cent support from the groupwere teacher (33 per cent), doctor (27 per cent) and policeman(10 per cent). Sixteen children (8.9 per cent)named sewing garments.Responses to questions on children’s work were similar tothe comments of parents for both boys and girls, with theexception of the number of children whose work extendspast four hours a day. With regard to girls, children estimate24 per cent work between four and eight hours a day. Parentsestimated this number to be 13 per cent.Attitude difference was also noted in two questions askedonly of female respondents, with 4 per cent of girls sayingthat some Cambodian folk sayings that limit the role ofwomen (suggesting they should stay at home) should bechanged or stopped. For example, “Women cannot turnthe stone” means that women are not strong and mustdepend on men. Comments were also made about the fearthat families have of girl children learning too much andthen wanting to leave the home and not assist in runningthe household and farming activities. Other commentsconcerned the reduced opportunity for marriage of educatedyoung women, because men don’t want to feel inferiorto women. Major barriers to girls’ access to serviceswere seen as poor living standards (54 per cent of children),no materials or uniforms (36 per cent), cost (25per cent) and distance (46 per cent). The need for girls tobe at home to work or help out was listed as a barrier by18 per cent of the children surveyed.In Location C (urban) 11 per cent of the children indicatedthat a barrier was fear of drug users and gangs. Action tocombat the negative effect of street gangs and drug use wasrequested by 45 of the children. Other steps for addressingobstacles included providing materials and clothes (24per cent), primary school construction (24 per cent), freehealth care (24 per cent), village health-centre construction(13 per cent, mainly at Location A and Location B) and roadconstruction (10 per cent, mainly at Location A and LocationB).Birth registration mirrored the response from adults, withonly 3 per cent of the children indicating that they had18 The Girl-Child and Government Service Provision