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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I thank all who in one way or another contributed in the completion of this thesis. First, I give thanks to God for protection and ability to do work.
I am so grateful to the Norwegian Quota scholarship scheme and the Faculty of Theology at the University of Oslo for making it possible for me to study here. I give deep thanks to the Professors and lecturers at the Intercontextual Theology programme, the librarians, and other workers of the faculty. My special and heartily thanks to my supervisor, Professor Jone Salomonsen who encouraged and directed me. Her challenges brought this work towards a completion. It is with her supervision that this work came into existence. For any faults I take full responsibility.
I am also deeply thankful to my informants. Their names cannot be disclosed, but I want to acknowledge and appreciate their help and transparency during my research. Their information have helped me complete this thesis.
I am also so thankful to my fellow students whose challenges and productive critics, especially at the Isegran seminars, have provided new ideas to the work.
Furthermore, I am thankful to the ELCT-Morogoro Diocese in Tanzania for supporting me to pursue my studies here in Oslo.
I also thank my family who encouraged me and prayed for me throughout the time of my research. This thesis is heartily dedicated to my mother who took the lead to heaven before the completion of this work.
May the Almighty God richly bless all of you.
ABSTRACT AND STRUCTURE
The central problem investigated in this thesis is the role culture and church play in promoting gender inequality and prostitution. In doing this, the study has analyzed field data from Chalinze village in Tanzania. The thesis comprises six chapters. Chapter one has offered a general introduction of the study. It has explained the research problem. It has also delineated the key research questions, as well as the objectives and relevance of the study. The chapter also has discussed the methodological approach and theoretical framework. Chapter two describes the social context in which the problem of prostitution is investigated. This involves reflection on rituals and beliefs among the villagers. The chapter narrates and analyses how the teachings and practices in initiation rituals might be contributing to prostitution in Chalinze community.
Chapter three discusses local perspectives on prostitution, and the way local people handle the problem of prostitution. In doing so, the chapter explores how traditional doctors are important figures in the issue of prostitution. Chapter four focuses on views from church leaders about prostitution. In chapter five, different feminist notions on prostitution are discussed and related to Chalinze context. The chapter also discusses viable solutions for dealing with the problem of prostitution in Chalinze. The conclusion in chapter six summarizes what lessons have been learnt.
CONTENT
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
ABSTRACT AND STRUCTURE
CHAPTER 1
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 RESEARCH PROBLEM
This thesis is a study of prostitution in relation to culture and religion in the Chalinze village in Tanzania. I attempt to explore what compels women into prostitution by critically addressing gender inequality and how prostitution is intertwined with social structures and the socio economic situation of people in the village. The focus is primarily on cultural and church^1 practices towards gender inequality. I also ask how prostitution is perceived and handled by traditional doctors^2 and Christians alike, and how the society and church contribute to prostitution.
My interest in researching this topic grew in 2006 when I was sent to work in Chalinze Centre with a group of four young men for two weeks on a Bible translation project. Since the village was 10km from my home village and we were required to work up to 8.00pm, and since there was no ready transport to take me home every day, I had to stay at one of the Centre‟s guesthouses. In the first week of my stay, I did not see any other guests, apart from my four working mates. My amazement made me ask a young female receptionist if they were making any profit of the guesthouse. She laughed and invited me to come to the reception after 11pm to see how the guesthouse makes profits. In the following night, I stayed at the reception as suggested. Yes, I saw how the guesthouse made profits. From around 11pm to 12 mid night, many people came, and they were in pairs i.e., a man and a woman. It did not take long until the guesthouse was full.
I learnt from the receptionist that the guests leave very early (sometimes before 5am). She informed me that most of the men who were spending half of the night in the guest house are truck drivers. They stay the night at the Centre before continuing their journey in the following morning. The women, on the other hand, are said to be prostitutes who look for whoever wants to have them for sex. On the subsequent night, I found out that some of the streets were regarded as market place for prostitutes. Women seen around those areas late at night are suspected to be prostitutes. Thus, if a woman is seen alone, the first question
(^1) Unless it is stated otherwise, church in this thesis refers to the Lutheran church in Chalinze. (^2) Traditional doctors in this thesis refers to African Traditional doctors.
she gets from men is, “Have you got a customer already?” On other streets, women stand along the road and keep running after private cars and the drivers choose a woman they want.
I developed an interest in the problem of prostitution because the national statistics on HIV/AIDS shows that Chalinze is among ten areas in Tanzania that leads on HIV/AIDS and prostitution (TANERELA‟s Report, 2007:n.p). I pondered over several questions: Why do women prostitute themselves? The high infection of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD‟s), including AIDS in the area could be enough to bring about a change in behaviour. But regardless of such alarming facts, some women continue to choose prostitution. Why do they commence and then continue with risky behaviour where having sex can indeed result in terrible suffering and ultimately in premature deaths? I also thought of moral prescriptions and values in the society and in the church in terms of prostitution. The values are very clear that people should not be engaged in such acts. However, the behaviour of prostitutes does not reflect these values. Why do they ignore these prescriptions and the values of the society and of their pastors? Are there existent Christian sexual ethics adequate and sufficient to give them a moral grounding to cope with contemporary choices, issues and problems? These questions brought me to question their participation in sex trade as truly free and celebratory, and to rather look at their practices as possibly framed by male power, authority and dominance.
These preliminary questions moved me to explore and research the life situation of women, and particular prostitutes in the village of Chalinze.
ENCOUNTER WITH SIKITU, A PROSTITUTE
In order to research women‟s lives in Chalinze, I conducted fieldwork and had the opportunity to meet Sikitu,^3 a 28-year old woman. After some days of establishing a friendship with her, I requested if I could visit her in her home. In private, Sikitu explained that her father declined to enrol her in secondary school, although she had done well with the prerequisite primary school examinations. Instead, her father and her two uncles betrothed her to be married to an old man of a certain clan.^4 Sikitu pleaded with her father and uncles that if they wanted her to marry a man from the particular clan,^5 she wanted at least to marry one of
(^3) Names which have been used in this thesis are not real names for ethical reasons. (^4) Usually fathers choose men to marry their daughters, based on friendship with the man or his richness. In Chalinze, uncles are highly involved in 5 choosing a husband for their sisters‟ daughters. This will be explained more in chapter three. Sometimes a girl is told to marry from a certain clan depending on the hard work of the people of that clan, absence of inheritance diseases, etc.
Sikitu‟s seems to be typical in Chalinze. It also reflects the situation of young women who opt to be involved in prostitution as their last alternative for survival. Looking into this case, one can notice how prostitution, poverty and violence against women in Chalinze are intertwined. The case also leads to the question of how gender inequality in Chalinze is treated in society and church. As I am looking into the question of prostitution in Chalinze, I also want to consider on social structures, how these produce gender inequality in Chalinze, and how this again can contribute to prostitution. Thus, my research questions which have been the pillar of this research are:
- Why is a large group of women and girls in Chalinze engaged in prostitution?
- How is prostitution related to gender inequality and how is gender inequality reproduced?
- How do cultural and church practices contribute to prostitution?
- How is prostitution an implicit critique of church and what is the church‟s response to this critique?
1.2 RESEARCH BACKGROUND
I am writing about prostitution in relation to culture and religion in Chalinze village in Tanzania. In so doing, I will briefly summarize some of the research literatures on prostitution, both in relation to religion and broader. Writing for the “The Challenges of Prostitution and Female Trafficking in Africa” , Ademola Fayemi defines prostitution as “the act of having sex for money” (Fayemi, 2009:202). In the book, “Women and Prostitution, A Social History ,” Vern Bullough and Bullough Bonnie explains that one of the earliest researchers on prostitution was William Sanger, who did his research in the 19th^ century, in the Victoria period.^10 Sanger examined the identity of the average prostitute and sought to understand why a prostitute had turned to that lifestyle. He found that the majority of prostitutes were in their late teens or early twenties; they were usually illiterate, poor and from broken families (Bullough and Bullough, 1987:243). Poverty, societal disgraced, and lack of education were among the causes of prostitution. Sanger also noted that some prostitutes had either been expelled from their homes or deserted by their parents and found prostitution as a way to support themselves. Others went into prostitution so their that families might survive. Similarly, many girls who were engaged in domestic work or as servants were forced into prostitution after they had been seduced by their masters and then abandoned (Bullough and Bullough, 1987:243).
(^10) Victoria period is 1837–1901.
Although Sanger‟s research referred to prostitution in the 19th^ century, the reasons listed to explain prostitution do not differ much from the reasons for prostitution in the contemporary period. Graham Scambler and Annette Scambler in the book titled “Rethinking Prostitution, Purchasing Sex in the 1990‟s” explain that in many countries reasons for prostitution have been associated with poverty, emotional neediness and susceptibility to pressure from friends (Scambler and Scambler, 1997:7). Moreover, prostitution is seen by contemporary society as a crime against morality (Scambler and Scambler, 1997:7). Stereotypically, women working as prostitutes are perceived as bad, disregarding norms of acceptable behaviour, suffering the „whore‟ label, and „increasingly criminalized by the state‟ (Scambler and Scambler, 1997:3).
Other scholars perceive prostitution as a human right; the right of a woman to do what she wants with her body. In the article, Prostitution as Violence against Women: NGO Stonewalling in Beijing and Elsewhere , Janice G. Raymond, a feminist activist against violence against women and sexual exploitation explains this perspective, and call attention to types of prostitution which may be not necessarily be regarded as human rights‟ violation. The philosophy that some types of prostitution is a human right were advanced in Beijing and in other international women‟s forums. Distinctions are drawn between forced and free prostitution, adult and child prostitution, and between prostitution and trafficking. These distinctions are used to make some forms of prostitution acceptable and legitimate, trying to revise the harm that is done to women in prostitution into a consenting act and exclude prostitution from the category of violence against women. Based on this move, many Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are working for women‟s rights to better their conditions in prostitution instead of helping them out of it (Raymond, 1998:1-9). Such NGO groups talk about women‟s empowerment in prostitution and primarily teach women how to perform better as prostitutes, how to negotiate with customers, and how to get men to use condoms and make it part of having sex. They do not offer women a way out because they believe that prostitution is women‟s choice (Raymond, 1998:1-9). There are, however, other perspectives on prostitution. Sarah Bromberg perceives prostitution as a “darkened world of sex, abuse and violence” (Bromberg, 1997:n.p). This conceptual position converges with that of Kathleen Barry, who perceives prostitution as violent, thankless, and grim occupation that degrades not only the prostitutes themselves but the whole feminine gender (Barry, 1995:30).
cater for basic needs for themselves and their families. As a result, they are treated like objects because the services they offer to their customers are paid for (Phiri et al, 2003:108).
From the above review, why prostitution persists in Chalinze village appears not to have become imperative in previous research. In Chalinze, many people in the religion the domain and in non religion domains have been interested in doing research on other topics. To mention a few which relate to gender inequality in the society, Esther Ngomuo has done research on violence against women, basing it on the exclusion of women from the church leadership. Her main arguments are that the patriarchal system in the society has affected the church as well, so that women in church are not given equal position and opportunities as men (Ngomuo, 2002).^14 In the same way, Niiteeli Panga has also done her Bachelor of Divinity research on children‟s rights, and she has emphasised children as the „tomorrow‟s nation‟, so, they should be given opportunity to have access to good education. Access to quality education will lead to their good future both individually and corporally (Panga, 2003). Furthermore, Himili Kimweri has researched marginalised groups and dealt with the rights of children and widows in Dar es Salaam, a neighbouring community to Chalinze. Kimweri‟s main critique to the Dar es Salaam community is that they need to improve social structures to not have any kind of inequality that violates the rights of these groups (Kimweri, 2008).
Apart from research mentioned above, there have been some efforts of women‟s organisations trying to combat violence against women and children, especially girls. Nevertheless, the situation does not seem to be improved for these marginalised groups in terms of getting equal rights compared to other groups in the society.
On the other hand, none of the research has dealt with prostitution and prostitutes in Chalinze, looking at the forces that compel these young women to get into prostitution. It appears that prostitutes are not recognised as one of the marginalised groups, or that circumstances push them into the practice. In other words, although people recognise the connection between prostitution, violence against women and poverty, it seems that no efforts have been taken to find a solution to the situation. On the contrary, prostitutes have been condemned in society as people who bring curse into the society because of their immoral behaviours, which does not please God. In their religions, they have also been rebuked and judged as the biggest sinners in the community.
(^14) I have not cited pages in Ngomuo, Panga, and Kimweri‟s works because here I have tried to write the themes of their works, not citing a page(s).
In the research literature on prostitution summarised in the above, poverty is pointed out as the major reason for prostitution. My interest is not only to look at poverty as a reason for prostitution in Chalinze, but also at structures in the society which produce poverty to women, and thus make them vulnerable to prostitution. My interest is also in explaining what the church does on the existing prostitution situation. Also, despite that the previous research has offered little on my key research questions, my analysis draws upon scholarship on prostitution and upon African scholars who have researched and written on gender inequalities in the African context.
1.3 AIMS AND RELEVANCE OF THE STUDY
The thesis project was aimed at:
- Contribute new knowledge about prostitution when it comes to the role of women in church and society.
- Deepen the understanding of the problem of gender inequality in Chalinze and how gender inequality contribute to producing prostitution
- Give a critical account of how the church is dealing with prostitution.
Moreover, I seek in this MPhil thesis to explain some of the socio economic contexts and life circumstances that tend to lead women into prostitution in Chalinze.
I propose to investigate how gender inequalities are embedded in cultural and religious practices in Chalinze, and how they contribute to prostitution. However, the study is not merely a critique against culture and the church. Rather, it is also an examination of the potential of existing elements in the culture and church which may be reinterpreted and used to enhance women‟s dignity in Chalinze.
The study is also a response to the statement made by the Lutheran World Federation‟s Committee on the Rights of the Child. This Committee stated specifically to Tanzania that preventive measures of violence against women are inadequate and weakened by the lack of research on the causes and extent of sale of children, child prostitution, child pornography and child sex tourism. The Committee recommended that the state strengthens its preventive measures, including research at regional and local levels, aimed at addressing the root causes, such as poverty and some cultural practices which contribute to the
Another belief is that witches usually meet at the junction for different reasons. So, the combination of the two; witches‟ meetings at the cross-road and people coming to do rituals at the cross-road make cross-road hold many evil spirits which affect the area. I shall come back to religions and beliefs in the coming chapters, when I discuss how they partake in prostitution in Chalinze.
Chalinze has also been influenced by slavery. The institution of slavery in Chalinze, Bagamoyo district, was introduced in the 19th^ century with the Arabs.^17 As Arabs came, they decided to use Bagamoyo (Chalinze is in the Bagamoyo district) as the final destination for their slave caravans from the centre of the country. Then, Bagamoyo became not only a centre for the slaves who were transported to Zanzibar, but also one of the places in Tanzania which has been largely influenced by slavery. Slavery has then been one of the historic roots and prime causes of „indirect slavery‟ and marginalisation of some groups in Bagamoyo and its villages, including Chalinze. In the society those who have opportunity become „lords‟ and others „slaves‟. In male-female relations, due to structures which put women down, men take this opportunity to become „lords‟ while women stay in „slaves‟ position (Mitimingi, 2002:12).
Economically, the majority of the population of Chalinze is poor. Very few have stable jobs. Many people are self-employed, engaged in small skilled agricultural activities and small businesses. Young men do small businesses ( machinga ), especially with the people who are travelling in buses and other cars. Women, in spite of doing agricultural farming, are also doing small businesses such as selling food (mama ntilie). However, these business women are often confronted by the police, and driven off for reasons such as making the Centre dirty. Very often, the police will eat and pour out women‟s food. Sometimes they oblige the business women to give them some money, lest they report them to the police stations.
Most of the families in Chalinze survive on less than 1US Dollar per day (field description). A large proportion of the Christians and Muslims have started to abandon their faith since they feel abandoned by God in their crucified existence of poor living standards. Women are the most affected by poverty. On one occasion, the President of Tanzania, Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, who is also from Chalinze by birth, said, “Though Tanzanians are poor, Tanzanian women are much poorer. So, another daunting challenge facing all of us is that of economic empowerment of women” (Speech of president Kikwete). The economic situation of people of Chalinze will be discussed in more detail in chapter two.
(^17) Slavery can be explained as a system under which human beings are the property of others.
1.5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
1.5.1 METHODS
This research has been conducted with the methodology of ethnography. Alan Bryman describes ethnography as:
… a research method in which the researcher is immersed in a social setting for an extended period. The researcher makes regular observations of the behaviour of members of that setting, listens to and engages into conversations, interviews informants on issues that are not directly amenable to observe or that the ethnographer is unclear about (Bryman, 2008:402).
Similarly, George Marcus considers ethnography as the practices of fieldwork and writing (Marcus, 1998). According to Marcus, ethnography offers requires the researcher to neither assimilate to „naturalized categories‟ nor over-theorize the ethnographic inquiry. Marcus explains that, in the pursuit of ethnography, if the researcher does not adopt a multi-sited fieldwork in which various sites are studied together, then, at least, the researcher should take on a „multi-sited research imaginary‟ wherein there is a narrative of the whole micro-world (knowable subjects) in an encompassing macro-world (the system) (Marcus, 1998:33ff). Such multi-sited strategy is deemed to possess capability for facilitating a thick description of what is going on in the frame of one‟s project and field site (Marcus, 1998:3-28).
According to Marcus, ethnography also aims at the exploration of moral ambiguities and contradictions, while developing knowledge of relations and connections that have entered beyond the frames that have held the traditional act of fieldwork in place (Marcus, 1998:21).
Marcus‟ perspective on ethnography influenced the research design and data gathered for this study. The challenge was to discover and define more complex and surprising objects of study. I felt the task was to advance the possibilities of making arguments through description, the delineation of processes, the orchestrating, and representation of voice, events, and rituals. It was decided earlier in the project not simply to accept theoretical terms that have been so influential from works and experience over the past years and more in interdisciplinary spaces, but to translate theoretical terms into a design of investigation through fieldwork and to be attentive to what the field research literally moves. So, the task has been to figure out, describe, and explain very complex realities in plain terms before considering theoretical framings, interest, and critiques of ordinary language. Drawing from the „multi-sited research‟ technique,
four of them wanted me to pay them for different reasons. Two of them said they did not have anything to eat, and asked me to give them some money after the interviews. One told me that I had used her time which she could have used for resting. Another one told me, “Sister, I know that this is a research, and you have a lot of money for it. So, for everything I have told you, you have to pay me.” I had to pay all of them since the information that I wanted from them was important and relevant for my research.
In the streets, I befriended prostitutes without revealing that I was doing a research. Bryman calls this a „covert role‟ in which one does not disclose the fact that he or she is a researcher (Bryman, 2008:406). I played this covert role towards the prostitutes because if prostitutes had known my identity as a researcher, they would have rejected me. However, after making friends with them I revealed my identity when I visited them in their homes or invited them to my home. The prostitutes became my friends. In one occasion in the street, I was amazed when one of my prostitute friends, Mwajuma told me that she wanted to go to her traditional doctor to „recharge her attraction juju .‟^18 I never knew that there are juju charms for attracting customers in prostitution business. I asked her about this, and she confidently said, “This is a business like any other. Even those guys with big shops and business have „ their‟ traditional doctors to attract customers and to protect their businesses.”
Apart from prostitutes, I also talked with other people. Among them were church leaders. I aimed at knowing their perspectives on prostitution and their attitudes to it. Also, being a Lutheran pastor from a neighbouring village was an advantage to me, especially in gathering data from church. Since I am pastor, I had an access to join in church leaders‟ meetings as a guest, and from there I learned many things which are important for my research. Data were also sourced from local people who I interacted with. I interviewed three church leaders in total; two from the Lutheran church, and one from the Free Pentecostal Church. Although my focus is the Lutheran Church, I interviewed the Pentecostal leader so I could have a comparative analysis of the situation. Apart from that, I also attended four church services and three bible studies in the Lutheran church.
I also gathered data from traditional doctor and from a teacher of the girls‟ initiation rite. The teacher invited me to her home and we had conversations on why she thinks the initiation ritual is relevant for the girls and the community. I also had an opportunity to attend one of the initiation classes, where girls are taught traditional values and practices.
(^18) Juju refers to traditional medicine.
The interviews usually span 1 to 2 hours, while informal conversations were unlimited, depending on the time of my availability and the interviewees‟ availability. Apart from a few interviews which I did with the clan leaders, a local government leader and one church leader, most of the data were collected through a normal conversation. That means, the research was not guided and closed by some few questions but gave room to the informants. What I have done was posing the subject of the research. As a result, more probing and consequent questions sprang out of the natural in-depth interview and conversation. With this method, the research and the relation between the researcher and interviews as well as the whole discussion became a self-generating process.
Why did I play a covert role to the prostitutes and to some of other informants? The main reason was getting realistic information. This helped me to get a true picture of situation, since when you inform people about the research or of any kind of data collection, sometime, not always, they tend to be not realistic, and they prepare answers to hide the truth, depending on the issue you are researching.
The collection of all the data was possible due to my position as a researcher at a suitable area for research. I could not research and speak from nowhere. Thus, I have done my field work in a fixed location, with a specific cultural, social and political background. Researching about prostitutes does neither mean that I am also a prostitute, nor am I interested in becoming a prostitute, but I wanted to know and reveal the hidden realities about the life choice of prostitutes. I am writing and analysing the field data at the university of Oslo, Norway. Where am situated is important in that I am not currently part of the daily life of the prostitutes I write about.
1.5.3 ETHICAL CONSIDERATION Due to the sensitive nature of the data from on fieldwork, I have decided to replace the real names of the informants with artificial names. This is meant to protect the confidentiality and privacy informants were assured. Also, to protect the confidentiality, interviewees were assured privacy.
Going to the famous prostitution streets, especially at night was not an easy task. Apart from being faced with many difficulties and challenges, it was also a big ethical challenge. As a Lutheran pastor it was unethical to be seen in the streets which are famous for sex-selling business, especially at night. Being at those streets raised many questions for the people who knew me. For them, I had to explain exactly the
