It Takes a Village: Addressing inter-generational barriers to the elimination of harmful social norms and traditional practices that influence the fulfilment of women's and girls’ rights, particularly those with disabilities.

"I have spent my entire life in Buswahili ward in Butiama district. From my childhood until now, gender-based violence, female genital mutilation and early and child marriage are normalised traditional practices in our community.  Moreover, female genital mutilation has been part of our identity that distinguishes us from other communities. However, as our community has evolved through meeting other people, intermarriages and exposure to human rights awareness, we have learnt that some of our long-held beliefs, social norms and traditional practices are discriminatory and harmful, especially towards women and girls, including those with disabilities”. Said Christopher Mwita, 52 Years old, Buswahili ward, Butiama District, Tanzania.

Social behaviour change requires long-term and consistent investment to reach the message of change to many people with frequent exposure and use of different platforms. For effective social behaviour change within the community, UNFPA supports intergenerational dialogues through its partner HelpAge International. The intervention is part of the ‘Çhaguo Langu Haki Yangu - My Choice My Rights’ programme funded by the Government of Finland. In the dialogues, older and younger generations (men, boys, women and girls) are involved in conversations in a community setting on the rights of women and girls, including those with disabilities, and identify social norms and traditional practices held over generations that are a barrier to protecting/enhancing those rights.

The programme involves training facilitators for three days to conduct intergenerational dialogues. The trainers are selected from community members, among men, women, older persons, youth and people with disability, in collaboration with the government officials at the district levels within the CLHY programme sites. The trainers are selected based on their social and leadership roles within their communities and their ability to facilitate and influence their community members to adopt positive social norms that enhance the rights of women and girls, including those with disabilities.

The Training of Trainers (ToTs) sessions are convened both in Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar and facilitated by staff from HelpAge International using an intergenerational dialogue guide. The trainers from the ToTs include Social Welfare Officers, Community Development Officers, Ward Councilors, Village Executive Officers, Wards Executive Officers, and staff from civil society organizations in the CLHY programme implementation areas. The trainers later cascade the session to the lower levels (at ward and/or village/shehia levels) for continued community dialogues that are guided by community-owned action plans. The action plans detail who and when they will facilitate the intergenerational dialogues and their focus.

The intergenerational dialogues are typically held at existing platforms available at no additional costs, including women's forums, older people association meetings, youth sports avenues, village meetings, and faith-based congregations. The dialogues provide a safe platform to have respectful and transformative discussions between the elders and youth that allow communities to create awareness about gender-based violence, early and child marriage and female genital mutilation and their consequences to women and girls, the community and society at large and to reevaluate long-held and normalized harmful beliefs and practices that are transmitted across generations. They also increase understanding of the importance of adopting positive social and gender norms and behaviours that promote women's and girls’ rights and support the participants in identifying priority actions for community change, for example, through increased involvement of men and boys in combating those harmful social norms and practices.

Christopher Mwita, who was trained as a facilitator through the Çhaguo Langu Haki Yangu - My Choice My Rights’ programme, implemented the intergenerational sessions in Buhemba and Sirorisimba Wards, testifies that during these intergenerational dialogues, he witnessed a remarkable shift in the mindsets of both the older and younger generations. He quotes one of the adult participants of the Buhemba ward training session, who remarked,

“This training has completely changed the way I used to think and believe about female genital mutilation and early and child marriage. Now I know they are completely wrong since they have negative effects on the health and wellbeing of women and girls.”

Going forward, Christopher Mwita is optimistic that intergenerational dialogues will be replicated by other programmes as an important and locally owned intervention for communities to identify joint actions towards ending generational transmissions of harmful social and gender norms and practices that violate women's and girls’ rights, including those with disabilities.

“The intergenerational dialogues have allowed the older and younger generations to reconsider preservation of some harmful cultural practices against women and girls' rights”. Said Christopher Mwita .

Chaguo Langu Haki Yangu - ‘My Rights My Choices’ is a three-and-a-half-year programme (2021-2025) implemented by UNFPA, the United Nations Sexual and Reproductive Health agency, with funding from the Government of Finland. The programme’s goals are to ensure that the rights and choices of women and girls, particularly women and girls with disabilities, are protected and enhanced through a multi-sectoral and holistic response that tackles gender-based violence and harmful practices, including teenage pregnancy, child marriage and female genital mutilation. The programme is implemented as part of activities to realise the National Plans of Action to End Violence Against Women and Children (NPA-VAWC) in Mainland Tanzania (2016/17-2021/22) and Zanzibar (2017-2022).

Direct beneficiaries: Adolescent girls and young women, particularly women and girls with disabilities, living in Shinyanga (Kishapu and Kahama districts) and Mara Regions (Tarime and Butiama districts) and Zanzibar (Urban district in Unguja and Chake Chake district in Pemba) who are vulnerable to or survivors of GBV, FGM and early and child marriage.

Indirect beneficiaries: Affected families, targeted communities and government institutions whose capacities will be strengthened to prevent and respond to gender-based violence and harmful practices, including teenage pregnancy, child marriage and female genital mutilation, and to uphold the rights of women and girls, particularly women and girls with disabilities.

The programme enhances coordination, knowledge-sharing, and policy development to support the implementation of the NPA-VAWC in Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar in collaboration with the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania, including local government authorities.

For further information please contact: 

Warren Bright,

Communications Analyst,

UNFPA Tanzania,
Email: bwarren@unfpa.org,

Mobile: +255 764 43 44 45