Gender Roles

I would never make assumptions about people that are different from me as I have experienced the effects of people making assumptions about myself. However, for the purpose of this exercise and without conducting any research on gender roles in Tanzania, I can provide some preconceived and ignorant notions of what they might look like from what I have seen in the media (news, infomercials, magazines, documentaries, etc.). These would include:

§  The majority of women with children are single mothers living below the poverty line.

§  Both men and women live in a very patriarchal society run by a few powerful men.

§  Men have very little involvement in parenting their children.

§  Women are not seen as equal to men in most aspects of society, in particular: employment, education, and healthcare.

§  Men fill the “hunter” or “warrior” roles and women are left to perform the “gatherer” and “nurturer” roles at home.

Before I depart for my project, I will challenge these assumptions by educating myself on the actual gender roles that exist in Tanzania. I will explore the many different influences within society that contribute to current attitudes and customs with regards to gender roles; religion, tradition, economy, health, demographics, and legislation.

From my experience working with diverse groups and populations I have learned a tool that will follow me to the field in Tanzania, which will allow me to learn about their culture and gender roles and to challenge some of the inequalities that may exist while keeping peace and respecting those I am working with. As a volunteer, challenging inequalities, I will ensure to remain a HERO.

Honest – Empathetic – Respectful - Open-minded

After completing some research on Tanzania, with a focus on the gender roles, I learned that although my assumptions with regards to Tanzania having a very powerful male population and a marginalized female population were correct, there is a diversity of tribal societies often with different gender roles.

I was also surprised to discover that although the labour force in rural areas is made up of an 80% female work force, women are not allowed to own their own wealth. On top of women not having the rights to ownership, they are also not able decide for themselves how large a family (how many children) they wish to have as this decision is left in the hands of their husband.