Dealing with sexual harassment
By Unknown - Wednesday, July 18, 2012
When Happiness Joseph goes out for shopping on Saturdays, she has to be covered up so that she does not draw unwanted attention. The receptionist at an accountant firm usually wears baggy tops, loose trousers and flip-flops to ensure that men do not stare at her. She has a slender frame but never wears fitting clothing. “On weekends I usually take a dala dala to the market at Kariakoo. I wear clothes that will spare me the catcalling, touching and any other forms of harassment from men,” she says.
For Happiness, there are places in Dar es Salaam - like Ubungo and Manzese - where she cannot go without the company of a man.
The young woman who moved out to rent her own place two-years-ago, made the resolution six months ago after she was attacked and stripped by a group of men. Were it not for the Good Samaritan who rescued her, the men would have raped her.
Harassed in broad daylight
“It was around noon and very hot. I was wearing shorts and a vest, as I looked for a trader selling second hand travelling bags. In my defence, I thought that people in Dar es Salaam were liberal and capable of minding their own business. I did not realise that showing some skin would aggravate them. I started seeing the danger signs from the moment I entered the dala dala. Everyone was staring at me and when I dropped off at Manzese I was attacked and humiliated by strange men,” she recalls.
What happened to Happiness happens on a regular basis to many other women in Tanzania. Sexual violence and harassment is common in homes, school, workplaces and public spaces. Cases of catcalling, flirting and unwanted physical advances are some of the forms of sexual harassment that many women encounter on the streets. For example, in the congested dala dala, many women fall victim to sexual harassment.
Conservative fashion
According to Emmanuel Shemaghembe, a social anthropologist at the University of Dar es Salaam, women who dress indecently and in defiance of socio-cultural norms are more likely to be harassed, especially in close quarters like dala dalas.
The social anthropologist says the problem of sexual harassment is rooted in the importation of Western culture that many conservative Tanzanians are yet to adopt.
“Sometimes women dress in a manner that causes men to react inappropriately,” Shemaghembe says. “Obviously, harassing a woman based on the way she is dressed is not the right way to address the situation.
And if men react in a group, they can easily become violent because of mob-psychology. This is because for a long time the existing tradition in Tanzania has made them believe that those who wear revealing clothes are immoral. But if a mzungu wears the same clothing no one cares because we know that that is their culture,” he says.
Looks don’t matter
But there are women who are harassed even when they are dressed decently. This may mean that for a woman it is about her looks, just as it is her gender.
Paul Nyende, a senior lecturer at Makerere University’s department of psychology defines sexual harassment the inappropriate behaviour which includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favours, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that tends to create a hostile or offensive environment for the person on the receiving end. Women, he says are usually the victims.
Daniela Upendo, a resident of Dar es Salaam has been a victim. “On my way home from church, I did not realise it at first but a man was busy looking at me and following my movements. I was on foot and he was driving, but that did not hinder him from slowing down, moving close to the kerb and staring,” she says.
The 24 year-old university student was really surprised when the stranger greeted her. “He reached out of the window and tried to grab a hold of my hands as if we knew each other. That was very disrespectful; one of the most disrespectful experiences I have ever faced. Unfortunately, I could do little to protect myself from the predator other than to push his hands away and walk faster.”
Weak legal system
Jehovaness Zacharia a lawyer working for the Women and Legal Aid Centre (WLAC) says that in her experience, many women do not report sexual harassment cases because most of the time the police are not helpful. She also says that there is a lot of stigma sorrounding sexual harassment and women are not empowered enough to report the cases as they arise. “Sexual harassment is a criminal offence, and women are supposed to report it once attacked,” she urges.
woman@thecitizen.co.tz
For Happiness, there are places in Dar es Salaam - like Ubungo and Manzese - where she cannot go without the company of a man.
The young woman who moved out to rent her own place two-years-ago, made the resolution six months ago after she was attacked and stripped by a group of men. Were it not for the Good Samaritan who rescued her, the men would have raped her.
Harassed in broad daylight
“It was around noon and very hot. I was wearing shorts and a vest, as I looked for a trader selling second hand travelling bags. In my defence, I thought that people in Dar es Salaam were liberal and capable of minding their own business. I did not realise that showing some skin would aggravate them. I started seeing the danger signs from the moment I entered the dala dala. Everyone was staring at me and when I dropped off at Manzese I was attacked and humiliated by strange men,” she recalls.
What happened to Happiness happens on a regular basis to many other women in Tanzania. Sexual violence and harassment is common in homes, school, workplaces and public spaces. Cases of catcalling, flirting and unwanted physical advances are some of the forms of sexual harassment that many women encounter on the streets. For example, in the congested dala dala, many women fall victim to sexual harassment.
Conservative fashion
According to Emmanuel Shemaghembe, a social anthropologist at the University of Dar es Salaam, women who dress indecently and in defiance of socio-cultural norms are more likely to be harassed, especially in close quarters like dala dalas.
The social anthropologist says the problem of sexual harassment is rooted in the importation of Western culture that many conservative Tanzanians are yet to adopt.
“Sometimes women dress in a manner that causes men to react inappropriately,” Shemaghembe says. “Obviously, harassing a woman based on the way she is dressed is not the right way to address the situation.
And if men react in a group, they can easily become violent because of mob-psychology. This is because for a long time the existing tradition in Tanzania has made them believe that those who wear revealing clothes are immoral. But if a mzungu wears the same clothing no one cares because we know that that is their culture,” he says.
Looks don’t matter
But there are women who are harassed even when they are dressed decently. This may mean that for a woman it is about her looks, just as it is her gender.
Paul Nyende, a senior lecturer at Makerere University’s department of psychology defines sexual harassment the inappropriate behaviour which includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favours, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that tends to create a hostile or offensive environment for the person on the receiving end. Women, he says are usually the victims.
Daniela Upendo, a resident of Dar es Salaam has been a victim. “On my way home from church, I did not realise it at first but a man was busy looking at me and following my movements. I was on foot and he was driving, but that did not hinder him from slowing down, moving close to the kerb and staring,” she says.
The 24 year-old university student was really surprised when the stranger greeted her. “He reached out of the window and tried to grab a hold of my hands as if we knew each other. That was very disrespectful; one of the most disrespectful experiences I have ever faced. Unfortunately, I could do little to protect myself from the predator other than to push his hands away and walk faster.”
Weak legal system
Jehovaness Zacharia a lawyer working for the Women and Legal Aid Centre (WLAC) says that in her experience, many women do not report sexual harassment cases because most of the time the police are not helpful. She also says that there is a lot of stigma sorrounding sexual harassment and women are not empowered enough to report the cases as they arise. “Sexual harassment is a criminal offence, and women are supposed to report it once attacked,” she urges.
woman@thecitizen.co.tz
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