Title: Traditional initiation and academic performance of primary school girls in Tanzania: reflections from Morogoro District Council

Authors: Mrisho Malipula

Addresses: Department of Administrative Studies, Mzumbe University Dar es Salaam Campus College, Mzumbe University, 12 Olympio Street, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Abstract: This article explores perceived influences of traditional initiation training on primary school girls' attendance and academic performance in Tanzania. It reveals that the form and content of the trainings have negative influence on girls' academic performance as they emphasise maternal and marital responsibilities which neither reinforce the primary school curricula nor provide them with competencies necessary to meet developmental challenges of the current age. Furthermore, initiates are subjected to early sexual knowledge and inculcation of gender stereotypes which militate against primary school girls' academic performance. In light of the initiation's negative impact on primary school girls' formal education, deliberate efforts should be made to downplay its insistence on marital and maternal issues. This should be done by complementing the current initiation trainings' content with skills and competences that could afford girls the ability to enhance their academic, social and economic status within the dictates and challenges of the modernised world.

Keywords: traditional initiation; academic performance; primary school girls; attendance and culture; Tanzania.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGSDS.2022.125709

International Journal of Gender Studies in Developing Societies, 2022 Vol.4 No.4, pp.377 - 395

Received: 01 May 2020
Accepted: 08 Dec 2020
Published online: 26 Sep 2022 *

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