On International Women’s Day, one of our TAFES associates shared the images below, a collection of biblical women in the same vein as the encouragements to 2018 women. Once again, I’m unsure on the source. Tanzanians love lists of things, a manifestation, I suspect, of their desire for global rather […]
International Women’s Day received a high profile in Tanzania this year. President Magufuli acknowledged women’s contribution in improving society. There were also discussions in the media (mainly among men) about why we don’t see women CEOs when they have equal access to education. None of it was particularly insightful in my […]
When you walk down any given street in our suburb, at least half of the women are veiled, probably more like three quarters. There’s a mix of ethnicities – Indian, Arabic and Tanzanian – and Muslim denominations, from the very conservative women in black with socks, gloves and eyes hidden, […]
The following was shared with TAFES associates in a WhatsApp group of which we are a part. The nearest I could trace the authorship was here but it was not clear. Nevertheless, the interest for us is less on who wrote it and more on how it is being used […]
I’ve been trying to get my head around why Tanzanians might view some hierarchy as a good thing. Australians are deeply suspicious of hierarchy, often viewing it as inherently flawed, a system that inevitably leads to abuse of those at the bottom. Tanzanians do not share our pessimism about hierarchy, […]
A TAFES Associate who is also a psychologist posted on her Facebook profile about why a man might beat (but not kill) his wife. She wasn’t trying to give justification for it, but to unpack what his assumptions or mental situation might be. The reasons listed were: he might do […]
Both Father Gilbert and Father John are passionate about the proverb that if you educate a woman you educate society, one of the first Tanzanian proverbs we learned. It has been the cultural touchpoint for much of women’s development in Tanzania, but I’ve had my concerns about it. While it […]
Meet Jesus at uni 