Video: Vanessa Mdee and 25 Tanzanian students discuss safety concerns in Tanzania with Michelle Obama to mark International Day of the Girl

Wednesday, 12 Oct, 2016


To mark International Day of the Girl, Tanzanian singer, Vanessa Mdee and 25 Tanzanian students had an opportunity to discuss safety concerns in Tanzania and how it affects the girl child with the First Lady, Michelle Obama at the US embassy in Tanzania.

One of the students, Nasra Abdalla had a chance to ask the first lady a question and this is how it went down:

  "I'm a student.  I like reading novels and singing most of the time.  My dream is to become a doctor.  It is true that girls in Tanzania face a safety problem.  First, it's due to the tradition of beliefs.  Traditions really hinder the safety of the girls in Tanzania because there is this issue of female genital mutilation whereby the private body part of a girl is removed.  Most of the girls die due to excessive bleeding in this activity.  And others acquire diseases, such as HIV, because the tools used aren’t sterilized.  And the ones which are circumcised, most of them drop out of school, ready to be married, according to the tradition of -- so this really hinders the safety of the girls.  

And also, a long distance from home to school.  This applies in all areas, rural and urban.  Although in urban areas there are buses, but still there are some girls who walk.  But along the way, there are gangsters, there are rebels.  So most of the girls get raped.  Others are raped and others are being attacked by thieves, whereby others get pregnant and drop out of school.  So safety in Tanzania is still a huge problem for girls.

Another is early marriage, whereby parents marry girls in a very young age.  At 12, you may find a girl already somebody's wife.  Maybe (inaudible) wife in the age of 12.  And this is due to the willingness of the parents for maybe, let's say, the bride price which is something they need.  Or maybe it's to maintain family friendship -- just because my father is a friend of, let's say, Frank's father, so I'm supposed to get married to Frank so that they can maintain the friendship.  So this is really hindering the safety of the girls in Tanzania.  

And also, I would like to pose a question to the Honorable First Lady of the world, Mrs. Obama.  How do girls' safety in Africa and other countries inspire you to start Let Girls Learn?  Thank you."