The more you know, a public service announcement
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Clara
23 November 2014 | Tanzania, Shirati
I never thought I would attend a pageant show in Tanzania, but that is exactly what I did this weekend. Miss Maji Safi was crowned after a 6 hour-long ceremony on Saturday. Miss Maji Safi means Miss Safe Water, and was organized by the local health organization. Music was blasting (Oh Johnny, where is my Johnny) and there was a catwalk where Tyra Banks could have easily picked her Next Top Model. These girls were working it, struttin’ their stuff up and down the catwalk and smizing (smiling with your eyes, to quote America’s Next Top Model). As with all public gatherings, the audience has to be entertained but also educated. This time the girls have prepared a play to stress the importance of female hygiene products.
I remember my own biology class about tampons, pads and other products all too well, with our flamboyant teacher sitting on his desk with his legs crossed and pursing his lips. It was an informative class, albeit a bit redundant, most of the girls in the class had had “the talk” ages ago. I was interested to see what these Tanzanian kids would come up with.
The scene in the play showed a classroom. One of the students arrives late to class and is forced to do frog jumps up and down the classroom by the teacher. The audience is laughing; they are no stranger to frog jumps and other capital punishment. During one of these frog jumps a clump of leaves falls out of the girls skirt. “What is this?” the teacher asks. The girl bows down her head in shame, she has gotten her period and did not have any sanitary products so used leaves instead, that’s why she was late for class. “Don’t you know you can get diseases from these leaves, you should go to Maji Safi, they distribute female hygiene products for free!” The audience claps, it was a good play, funny, and it got the point across.
Later that evening I went out to dinner with the Dutch doctors and my fellow interns. The TV was playing a Zuku Soap in the background. It was subtitled so I didn’t have to miss the incredible dramatic dialogues and facial expressions. Family feuds were resolved by running after the opponent with a machete and wise lessons were taught to the women. “Your husband is only human, you must forgive him, a child needs a mother and a father, don’t be selfish. Go back to him; if he is hitting you he must have a good reason, reflect on your behaviour.” When the woman returned home after fleeing to her aunt, she expected her husband to be angry, but he wasn’t. The explanation for his behaviour was most peculiar, and again a hidden public service announcement. The man had malaria, he had slept without a mosquito net for three days and had contracted the parasitic infection. “Don’t you know you can get mosquito nets for free at the hospital?” So now the infection must have spread to his brain as well. “Maybe he has cerebral malaria, and it has affected his thinking?”
Great, so if a man hits a woman, it’s her fault. If he doesn’t it’s malaria.
I remember my own biology class about tampons, pads and other products all too well, with our flamboyant teacher sitting on his desk with his legs crossed and pursing his lips. It was an informative class, albeit a bit redundant, most of the girls in the class had had “the talk” ages ago. I was interested to see what these Tanzanian kids would come up with.
The scene in the play showed a classroom. One of the students arrives late to class and is forced to do frog jumps up and down the classroom by the teacher. The audience is laughing; they are no stranger to frog jumps and other capital punishment. During one of these frog jumps a clump of leaves falls out of the girls skirt. “What is this?” the teacher asks. The girl bows down her head in shame, she has gotten her period and did not have any sanitary products so used leaves instead, that’s why she was late for class. “Don’t you know you can get diseases from these leaves, you should go to Maji Safi, they distribute female hygiene products for free!” The audience claps, it was a good play, funny, and it got the point across.
Later that evening I went out to dinner with the Dutch doctors and my fellow interns. The TV was playing a Zuku Soap in the background. It was subtitled so I didn’t have to miss the incredible dramatic dialogues and facial expressions. Family feuds were resolved by running after the opponent with a machete and wise lessons were taught to the women. “Your husband is only human, you must forgive him, a child needs a mother and a father, don’t be selfish. Go back to him; if he is hitting you he must have a good reason, reflect on your behaviour.” When the woman returned home after fleeing to her aunt, she expected her husband to be angry, but he wasn’t. The explanation for his behaviour was most peculiar, and again a hidden public service announcement. The man had malaria, he had slept without a mosquito net for three days and had contracted the parasitic infection. “Don’t you know you can get mosquito nets for free at the hospital?” So now the infection must have spread to his brain as well. “Maybe he has cerebral malaria, and it has affected his thinking?”
Great, so if a man hits a woman, it’s her fault. If he doesn’t it’s malaria.
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Je kunt nu ook Smileys gebruiken. Via de toolbar, toetsenbord of door eerst : te typen en dan een woord bijvoorbeeld :smiley
