Arusha — Will the increasingly vocal support for education,
economic empowerment and a change of attitudes help in the
struggle for gender equality? At a Sunday confirmation party in
East Africa, the women of the family are cooking up vats of
pilau, frying chicken, and making salads. After asking why the
men aren't helping out in the kitchen, one of the women laughs,
saying "It's African culture. The man doesn't help in the house
or with food - it's just the way it is!" This family is wealthy:
it owns two cars and a swimming pool, and all the children have
blackberries. And while some aspects of Western modernity have
been imported into this household, notions of gender equality
and women's rights remain noticeably absent. The same case could
be made for East Africa more generally, where domestic violence
is prevalent and sexual abuse is often systemic. Teenage girls
on Zanzibar report having to do sexual 'favours' for
schoolteachers, prospective bosses, and even family members. And
in some Kenyan tea estates