End of November a 3-day workshop was held in Kikooba
village, Uganda. The workshop was focusing on gender topics.
Gender is a relatively new area to research. It is
interesting to observe the subject in an East-African rural setting. Are there
differences? How will the girls react for the topics we come up? Will they even
attend to the training? Will they be interested?
Yes! In fact they were interested!
On the first days of the training a colleague was talking
about sex, sexually transmitted diseases and menstrual hygiene. Before the
training one day I sat down with the girls from my class and sent out the boys
to play football. I wished to ask them about their hygiene practices and sexual
experiences. The girls were very shy but when I explained that a friend of mine
will come and they can ask whatever they wish they became enthusiastic.
For my
question about menstrual hygiene they told me that in the village they do not
have access to pads or any kind of sanitary tools. Basically how it works is that
they use old clothes to keep the flow. According to data of Afripads often
girls are not able to attend to school due to their periods as they are afraid
of leaking. Just imagine…one week per month…that means approximately 20% of the
school year. These girls are vulnerable to left behind and might drop out at a
young age. They
are likely to be engaged in early marriages and child pregnancy what leads to
dependency on their husbands.
For the question with
who they can share their questions and who prepare them for turning to a woman
they answered “no one’”. Their mothers and older sisters are not talking about
the topic and feel ashamed of it. The young girls learn about this natural
phenomena only from their fellow class mates. They do not know what is
happening in their bodies.
On the first day of
the training our aim was to break the taboos and talk openly about the physical
aspects of being a woman. Thanks to Afripads’ donation we were able to
distribute reusable sanitary kits that the girls can use up to one
year.
On the second day Teresa EUAV was holding an interactive
workshop about female roles in the society and leadership. It was amazing to
see how the girls talked about their dreams and ambitions to become one day a
doctor or business woman.
On the third day Enrico EUAV held a workshop about the basics
of photography. The girls learnt about the techniques they can apply once they
have the chance to shoot. At the end of the workshop disposable cameras were
shared with the girls with a simple request; take a picture about themselves,
their families, their role in the society and the life of the village. The
cameras will be collected shortly and the pictures will be developed.
Can’t
wait to see my lovely Kikooba through the eyes of the girls!
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