Subjects Taught in School: English, Math, Kiswahili, Biology, Physics, Chemisty, History, Geography, Civics, and ABUSE

One of the things about Tanzania that I have always hated is the disrespect and abusive treatment of women.  Tanzanian women are so strong and hardworking. They are often the ones working on the farm, selling fruits and vegetables in the market, carrying buckets of water, cooking, cleaning, washing clothes, taking care of children, etc.   I have a lot of respect for the women here, yet they are constantly victims of physical, emotional, and psychological abuse. It makes me so sad because I am powerless to help them.  Peace Corps warned us early on not to get involved in these matters because our own safety could become a concern. As a result, over the last year I have learned to put on headphones to drown out the screams of my neighbors being beaten at night.  And I have learned not to stare when the Momma whose shop I frequent has a black eye, busted lip, and bruises all over her body.  Witnessing abuse in the village was bad enough, but seeing it at my school crossed the line. 

As a teacher, I am not only trying to teach my students English, but also discipline and respect for each other.  I was horrified today when I found out that one of the male students was being punished for beating a female student over a disagreement about the cleaning schedule.  I am the only female teacher at the school, so I was happy to see that the male teachers thought the student should be punished.  However, they didn’t seem too upset about it.  Beating girls was a normal thing for boys to do.  I know that abuse is common in this culture, but it seems like I am the only one upset about it.  I remember a few months ago a boy in my class slapped a girl in the face and the class was SHOCKED that I was upset about it.  The students just laughed and could not seem to understand why the boy was being punished.  The saddest part was that the girl did not understand why a boy slapping her was unacceptable.  My students think I am a weird American, but they are aware of the things that make me angry.  This was the one and only time a boy hit a girl in front of me, and they know that I won’t tolerate it.  Unfortunately, they don’t understand why this behavior is wrong.  How can I teach them abuse is wrong when they go home and see their father beating their mother?  It is so normal in this culture that my students are desensitized to it in the same way corporal punishment doesn’t seem to affect them.

I am fighting a losing battle against corporal punishment at this school.  There is too much teacher turnover for me to convince anyone that students shouldn’t be beaten.  Yet, when it comes to boys beating girls in school, I think they deserve corporal punishment.  I didn’t even cringe when this student was hit with a stick.  I suggested to the teacher that the next time they should let the girl who was abused give the boy his punishment under the supervision of teachers.  They liked that idea.  But I know that people who are abused often become abusers themselves and I wonder if corporal punishment is teaching my students physical abuse is okay.  If anyone has any suggestions on what I can do to stop this trend, I am all ears.