The Thin Red
Line
Pemba, a predominantly Islamic East African island in
the Indian Ocean coast of Tanzania a thin red line exists between the men and
women. A line though thin is an
obstacle that hinders the context of development and equality. A line that is difficult to break, woven by culture
and religion that serves as the fiber that is difficult to break. However, the thin red line can be cross
through education. For this past few years, Volunteer Services Overseas (VSO)
volunteers and the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MOEVT) is
very keen in their partnership to break
the unbreakable line by doing gender mainstreaming. Last November 2011 the gender mainstreaming
program of VSO and the MOEVT step a little higher in their quest from their
previous works in gender mainstreaming.
This time thirty participants mostly compose of head teachers,
school administrators, and teacher leaders converge in Miti Ulaya Teachers
Resource Training Center from the
different parts of the Wete District to identify the existing concerns on how
to advance gender mainstreaming from the classroom to the school level. The VSO Tanzania Gender and National
Volunteering Coordinator, Imisa Nashitsakha helps steer the oar in navigating
the two days training in order for the
participants to understand better the concept of gender mainstreaming in the
African context of education. Also the
expertise of Les Fry ( VSO U.K. Volunteer )
in school leadership and management and the author (VSO Bahaginan Volunteer) sharing his knowledge in
integrating gender mainstreaming in teaching ushered the school administrators and
teachers to create the own action plans in their respective school on how to
address the gender issues in t own school. The office of the District
Education Officer of Wete
headed by the dynamic Bi Fatma Mgeni and
the Coordinator of Miti Ulaya Teachers Resource Center (TRC) Mr. Ali Kombo Ali commit to ensure that this action plans will be implemented in the schools. As more school leaders and
teachers from the other parts of Wete district were not
able to attend the previous training, the Resource Center will be having another
training, this time this is financially supported by the MOEVT and the TRC I
order for the remaining schools to make their own action plan on how to
integrate it in their school management
plan. Another positive impact of the VSO
sponsored gender mainstreaming training program, the head mistress of Miti
Ulaya, Bi Sabahi will pilot the creation of the students Gender Mainstreaming
Club. She hopes that this will
serve as model for others schools to
starts their own Gender Mainstreaming Clubs too. As the schools in Wete try to navigate to cut
the unbreakable thin red line, VSO Volunteers will continue to assist them to
totally erase the durable line that hinders development in Pemba Island.
The challenge is still there for us here
on how to sustain what we have
started, Les Fry will continue to help the school leaders to
make and implement their school action
plans, the blogger will continue to encourage and share on how to integrate gender
mainstreaming in teaching techniques and providing support in the creation of Gender Clubs, and the head
teachers in motivating their students and teachers . The Ministry and VSO Tanzania to
help in providing the resources and leadership, then we will cross the thin red
line of gender mainstreaming in education here in Pemba.
1The VSO Pemba
Gender Mainstreaming Report 2011 -2012, Pemba Island, United Republic of
Tanzania
2 Pemba Island VSO Volunteers Regional
and Gender /HIV –AIDS representative
