Tanzania: Maternal health in Hangaza

By Alex Mchovu

Dar es salaam, 5 August – The Hangaza tribe are a Bantu speaking people who are closely related to the Warundi of Burundi. They hail from the Kagera region in Ngara District in the North Western part of Tanzania. A common practice of the Hangaza is that women resume their responsibilities shortly after giving birth.

It is expected that soon after the child is born, the mother is ready to get back to her ordinary duties irrespective of her health condition. This is often between an an average of three to five days after delivery. This does not take into account the health of the woman nor gives opportunity for her to heal and nurse her infant. They literally carry the baby on  their backs and resume work as usual.

This is the story of two women, Juliet Paschal commonly referred to as Mama Pita, a mother of two and Ms.Takhiya Issa who have passed through the same challenge. They both resumed work soon after giving birth and were not given time to recover. According to health experts, ordinarily it takes an average of six weeks before a woman can resume her daily activities after birth.

However, this is not the case for the Hangaza community whose expectation of a woman’s responsibility does not take into consideration the health and well being of the mother.There is need for the community to be sensitized about the issue and work towards changing the way women are treated regardless of whether they just gave birth or not.

This story aims at challenging stereotypes against women in the community and the country. To influence directly the communal problems, especially those deeply rooted in ancient cultural practices, by bringing them to the attention of the community and  stirring communal reflection.

The key objective is to combat injustices done against women in two ways: involving the community in the radio programme making process. Through this, the people meet directly and reflect over issues that occur among the members of the community. Secondly, connecting stakeholders with the community members, and allowing for discussions, which foster change, take place.

These discussions may give platform to community leaders to talk about their part in upholding their cultural practices, while people like teachers tell what efforts they are making to educate future generation. Teacher have power to influence how the next generation thinks and acts, therefore their role is quite vital.

The discussions also give a platform for women to speak out against norms that hinder their impact and voice in the community. The idea is to influence the community to begin to appreciate and respect the woman and redefine the roles of both males and females by embracing parity.

Alex Mchomvu is a radio journalist from Tanzania. He produced the story on maternal health for the Tanzania Gender and  News Summit.