The Plight of Street Children and Juvenile Delinquency in Urban Tanzania: A Review of Literature

ABSTRACT Tanzania as a developing country has been experiencing worsening impacts of the street children phenomenon in practically all its rapidly growing urban areas. Based on the review of literature, the causes of street children include general poverty, loss of family ties (due to polygamy, separation between parents), some unwelcome traditional practices (such as forced marriages, female genital mutilation), and the HIV/AIDS epidemic affecting families. In the street the children have worse living conditions since they have nowhere to live, no food and no protection. In a bid to fend for themselves they end up engaging in juvenile delinquency, causing havoc to the society. Therefore, a more detailed research is required and all stakeholders should pull their resources together so as to obtain a sustainable solution for the street children phenomenon in the country.

Download Full-text

Christ's Salvific Message and the Nandi Ritual of Female Circumcision

Theological Studies ◽

10.1177/004056390206300307 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 63 (3) ◽

pp. 579-600 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mary Nyangweso

Keyword(s):

Female Genital Mutilation ◽

Female Circumcision ◽

Traditional Practices ◽

Genital Mutilation ◽

Initiation Rite ◽

The Many ◽

Gospel Message ◽

Female Genital

[Female initiation rite is one of the many traditional practices found in some African communities. The many rituals during this time of initiation include female circumcision/female genital mutilation, a socially justified mark of maturation, dramatizing the break with childhood and incorporation into adulthood. This practice has received much criticism because of sexist, health, and human implications for woman's integrity. Christian missionaries to Africa condemned it as a barbaric practice, unnecessary for its believers. In spite of condemnations and various efforts to stop the practice, female circumcision persists among a number of Africans including Christians. The author here examines the gospel message, especially what Christ's salvific message means to the Nandi culture, and especially how the practice of female circumcision can be reinterpreted in the light of this message.]

Download Full-text

The socioeconomic dynamics of trends in female genital mutilation/cutting across Africa

BMJ Global Health ◽

10.1136/bmjgh-2020-003088 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 5 (10) ◽

pp. e003088

Author(s):

Ewa Batyra ◽

Ernestina Coast ◽

Ben Wilson ◽

Valeria Cetorelli

Keyword(s):

Urban Areas ◽

Female Genital Mutilation ◽

Demographic And Health Surveys ◽

African Countries ◽

Opposite Pattern ◽

Genital Mutilation ◽

Urban Rural ◽

Development Goals ◽

Socioeconomic Differentials ◽

Female Genital

BackgroundThe majority of women who undergo female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) live in Africa. Although the UN Sustainable Development Goals call for intensified efforts to accelerate the abandonment of FGM/C, little is known about where in Africa the declines in prevalence have been fastest and whether changes in prevalence differ by women’s socioeconomic status.MethodsWe use data from Demographic and Health Surveys and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys for 23 African countries, collected between 2002 and 2016, and covering 293 170 women. We reconstruct long-term cohort trends in FGM/C prevalence spanning 35 years, for women born between 1965 and 1999. We compute absolute and relative changes in FGM/C prevalence and differentials in prevalence by women’s education and urban-rural residence. We examine whether socioeconomic differences in FGM/C are converging or diverging.FindingsFGM/C prevalence has declined fastest (in relative terms) in countries with lower initial prevalence, and more slowly in countries with higher initial prevalence. Although better-educated women and those living in urban areas tend to have lower prevalence, in some countries the opposite pattern is observed. Socioeconomic differentials in FGM/C have grown in the majority of countries, particularly in countries with moderate-to-higher overall prevalence.ConclusionsThe documented relationship between absolute and relative FGM/C prevalence rates suggests that in settings with higher initial prevalence, FGM/C practice is likely to be more entrenched and to change more slowly. There is substantial variation between countries in socioeconomic differentials in prevalence and their changes over time. As countries change from higher to lower overall prevalence, socioeconomic inequalities in FGM/C are increasing.

Download Full-text

Chapter 7. The Sudanese National Committee on the Eradication of Harmful Traditional Practices and the Campaign Against Female Genital Mutilation

Female Circumcision ◽

10.9783/9780812201024.142 ◽

2006 ◽

pp. 142-170

Keyword(s):

Female Genital Mutilation ◽

National Committee ◽

Traditional Practices ◽

Genital Mutilation ◽

Harmful Traditional Practices ◽

Female Genital

Download Full-text

Culture as an Impediment to Socio-Economic Development in Henry Ole Kulet’s Blossoms of the Savannah

International Journal of Literature, Language and Linguistics ◽

10.52589/ijlll-riyjll5c ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 42-52

Author(s):

Violet Nasambu Barasa

Keyword(s):

Economic Development ◽

Female Genital Mutilation ◽

Cultural Practices ◽

Traditional Practices ◽

Cultural Economic ◽

Genital Mutilation ◽

Socio Economic Development ◽

Long Term Impact ◽

And Behavior ◽

Female Genital

This paper examines how Maasai traditional cultural practices and beliefs in Ole Kulet‘s novel Blossoms of the Savannah hinder socio-economic development. The cultural practices that incumber socio-economic progress has implication on both the immediate Maasai community (as illustrated through Nasila village) and the society at large. In most societies in Africa, traditional and cultural practices inform and influence the daily experiences and behavior of its people. Early marriages and female genital mutilation are practiced in a number of communities across the African continent in countries such as Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Guinea among others. One of this communities is the Maasai community in Kenya which is the physical setting of Blossoms of the savannah. Some traditional practices among the Maasai are detrimental as is evident in the long-term impact on the psychological, physical and the general wellbeing of its members. This paper focuses on the intertwinement of early marriages, female genital mutilation (FGM), and patriarchy and how they impact the socio-economic development in the society. Early marriages and female genital mutilation practices are socio-economically retrogressive in a 21st century society. These traditional practices and customs have roots in the social, cultural, economic, historical and political discourse encapsulated within the patriarchal structures and realized through gender inequality. This paper therefore focuses on how the traditional practices impede the realization of development in the Maasai community as advanced in Blossoms of the Savannah.

Download Full-text

Harmful Traditional Practices and Women’s Health: Female Genital Mutilation

Maternal and Child Health ◽

10.1007/b106524_10 ◽

2009 ◽

pp. 167-189

Author(s):

Sarah Windle ◽

Chuks Kamanu ◽

Ebere Anyanwu ◽

John E. Ehiri

Keyword(s):

Women’S Health ◽

Women's Health ◽

Female Genital Mutilation ◽

Traditional Practices ◽

Genital Mutilation ◽

Harmful Traditional Practices ◽

Female Genital

Download Full-text

Combating female genital mutilation in Northeast (Horn) Africa and its challenges

African Health Sciences ◽

10.4314/ahs.v20i4.54 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (4) ◽

pp. 1955-67

Author(s):

Amirbahram Arabahmadi

Keyword(s):

Gender Discrimination ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Female Genital Mutilation ◽

Female Circumcision ◽

Descriptive Analysis ◽

Horn Of Africa ◽

African Countries ◽

Genital Mutilation ◽

North East ◽

Female Genital

Background: This article investigates the practice of female genital mutilation as a long-held custom in the countries of North- east Africa, known as Horn of Africa, where many women in rural and urban areas are faced with different physical and psychic consequences in their future lives. Objective: To investigate the prevalence of FGM in the Horn of Africa and the traditional thinking of People about it. Methods: This study was based on descriptive analysis method. The questions of the study are (a) Why female circumcision is widely practiced in Horn of Africa; (b) What are the mental and physical consequences of female genital mutilation for the wom- en; and (c) How regional and international entities, whether governmental or NGOs, are combating this tradition. Results: This article has found out that female genital mutilation in Northeast African countries has resulted in many lifelong diseases and sexual degradation in many women and the best way to combat this tradition is to inform people by gradual (not abrupt) trainings without any insult to the beliefs of the people. Conclusion: This study reveals the Health education based on behavioral change. In doing so, the unity of policies between regional and international actors along with attracting the support of tribal elites is also needed. Keywords: Female genital mutilation; Northeast Africa; international organizations; nongovernmental organizations; gender discrimination.

Download Full-text