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

However, they believe it will take time for the practice tostop entirely.One primary-school teacher at Sindeni ADP commentedthat “girls continue to be seen as properties belonging totheir households”. He cited this as a main reason for poorperformance and/or dropping out by girls, along with earlymarriage. In most villages it was observed that parent-arrangedmarriages are the norm. Parents determine to agreat extent when, how and who will marry their daughters.Bride price was mentioned as a strong motive behindthese arranged marriages. “Most parents are concernedwith how much they will receive as a result of their daughtersbeing married”, said another teacher.The actual practice in recent years has been for parentsto arrange for a daughter’s marriage while the daughter isstill in school. There is also a very close tie between FGMand early marriage. Once the parents have found a husbandfor a school-going girl, her concentration and effortsto study wane, contributing to failure in examinations. Thestudy found very interesting stories of both parents andchildren describing marriage of their daughters (or eldersisters) as an achievement. Being married was equatedwith getting a job. Stories exist of some parents discouragingtheir daughters from excelling in studies because thiscould lead them to pass their examinations and make itdifficult for parents to fulfil their arrangements to marryoff their daughters.During the study getting married was cited as the maincareer option for most girls after completing their primaryeducation. Another option mentioned was migration tourban areas and cities, which was also seen as a careerachievement for many girls. Migration was perceived asgiving girls the economic power to support themselves, aswell as their families, through domestic work or, in a fewcases, commercial sex work.When analysing the kind, nature and extent of activitiesboth within the household and outside the home, it wasevident that girls constitute the main workforce in supportof a number of activities. As a result, girls lack adequatetime for rest and study at home. A chain of activitiesoverburdens girls from early in the morning, beforethey depart for school, while at school, and immediatelyafter they come back from school. The activities in Table2–3 were cited by those interviewed:Describing the nature and extent of activities done byboys and girls, one parent from Damuye ADP had this tosay: “Girls are weak physically and therefore their activitiesin the household are those that do not require a lotof energy. Girls have many activities that use less energy,while boys do a few activities that usually require use ofphysical energy”. This is one explanation for why girl childrencarry out a large number of activities without dueconsideration for the fact that, as children, they need timeto rest, to play and to study while at home.Table 2–3. Girls’ and boys’ activitiesActivities typically done by girlsHouse cleaning (both inside and outside environment)Washing dishesCookingCollecting firewoodFetching waterFeeding siblingsFarming activities (seasonal)Tending siblings (especially when the mother is notavailable)Going to marketWashing clothes (of family members)Activities typically done by boysFetching water (must use family bicycle)Tending family animals (sheep, goats, cattle)Farming activities (seasonal)Note: In families where boys have no elder sister, it was clearduring interviews that all activities usually done by girls can be doneby boys.Source: The Girl Child Research Study 200344 The Girl-Child and Government Service Provision