The Peace
Corps is a world-renowned organization that was established by John F. Kennedy
in 1961 to promote world peace and friendship. The three goals of the Peace Corps are: “helping
the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and
women, helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the
peoples served, helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the
part of Americans” (Mission, 2008, para 2). Over 200,000 volunteers have served
in 139 different countries since the establishment just over 50 years ago. As
of September 30, 2011, sixty-one percent of volunteers were women, forty
percent of volunteers were working in the area of education, and thirty-nine
percent of volunteers were serving in Africa (Fast Facts, 2012).
After a
grueling yearlong application process to the Peace Corps, my departure seems to
be approaching more quickly than expected. An online application, in-person
interview, dozens of doctors visits for completion of medical paperwork, phone
interview, and numerous other documents and paperwork have all been completed
to get me this far in the process. That is just the easy part-June 6th
I will arrive in Tanzania to serve 27 months as a Secondary English Teacher and
that is when the real work begins. Upon telling fellow Americans of my upcoming
departure, I have received a lot of negative feedback, mostly around the
discourse of safety. In this paper I hope to discuss how gender roles,
activities, living environments, and cultural adaptation affect Peace Corps
volunteers’ safety.
The first
three months in Tanzania are designated for Pre-Service Training where we will
be trained in all aspects of our new life: Kiswahili language, cross-culture,
technical, community development, personal health, safety and security. During
that time, each volunteer will be placed with a homestay family to help them
learn more about Tanzanian culture and language. After Pre-Service Training is
over, volunteers are placed at their permanent sites. I may be assigned to a
new site where no other Peace Corps Volunteer has ever been placed, or I may be
replacing a current volunteer who is about to complete their service. Although
there may be a short overlap of two volunteers at one site, the majority of the
two years of service is spent with only one volunteer per site.
Living
conditions vary from site to site and may or may not include electricity and
plumbing. Sites are generally in rural areas; it may take up three days to get
from the most remote sites to Peace Corps headquarters in Dar es Salaam. Since
there is usually one volunteer per remote village, safety seems like a
concerning issue. Already, the thought of living alone in an American suburb
seems daunting. According to Athena, a current volunteer, all Peace Corps
Volunteer housing must have bars on the windows. It is customary for all
volunteers to be inside by nightfall, with all doors and gates locked.
Gender roles
of Tanzanian women are much more traditional compared to American gender roles.
Women are seen as
property of their fathers and later their husbands, and their primary
responsibilities are childbearing and maintaining the home. For starters, women are expected to dress
modestly at all times. Even with the extreme heat, ankle-length skirts and tops
that cover your shoulders are expected. Teachers especially are expected to be
dressed professionally. A lack of professional appearance can cause a lack of
respect by students and colleagues. A few women are becoming more progressive
and occasionally starting to wear pants, but even then, they must wear a kanga.
A kanga is a piece of fabric that wraps around the waist to hide a woman’s
figure. It doesn’t matter how a woman perceives her body, the whole point of
wearing a kanga is to respect the culture. Even when exercising, women are
expected to wear a kanga.
However, these
gender roles are never quite set in stone for white volunteers. The fact that
they are American reduces expectations for them to behave exactly like
Tanzanian women. Because of the higher status as a teacher, and as a white
person, volunteers are sometimes allowed to bend gender roles. For example,
cooking and cleaning are considered traditional female roles but current
volunteer, Leslie,
doesn't do her own cleaning or cooking and says, “that is pretty standard for a
teacher” (LC. personal communication, May 11, 2012). At formal functions such as parties or funerals, all women
are expected to help cook. Other traditional Tanzanian gender roles for women
include serving the men, sitting lower than a man, following men’s directions,
and segregation of women and men when eating, at meetings, or in casual social
settings. Rebecca, a current
volunteer, tries to teach Tanzanians about American gender roles by acting and
dressing more similarly to how she would in America. She states, “This is where I am able to show women
that they can have a voice by setting the example. But I have to be careful not
to be too much either way, not only for my safety, but for the safety of the
women who may be using me as an example to follow. Too much too soon can
hurt/harm rather than help” (RS. Personal communication, May 11, 2012).
Tanzanian
men seem to love interacting with women-all women. Apparently it is common for
men to hit on women, call them “baby”, ask why they are not married, or if they
would marry a Tanzanian, etc. Some volunteers feel these are examples of curiosity
while others feel it is a form of harassment. Men are forgiven for any sexual
drives they may have, but women are not. Current male volunteers are constantly
encouraged to seek pleasure from women, even if they already have a fiancé or
wife. Compared to Tanzanian women who are busy doing cooking and cleaning,
Tanzanian men seem lazy, yet still maintain most of the power. According to
Dave, a current volunteer, people think he is odd because he lives alone and
takes care of his own cooking and cleaning. Instead of demanding a woman come
do the work for him (which is what I would have expected), they seem to write
it off as him just being a silly American.
Religion also
influences gender roles and practices. The two main religions practiced in
Tanzania are Islam and Catholicism. Both of these religions preach the
importance of the modesty of women. However, the degree of modesty differs by
religion, or how religious a certain person is. “The men seem to agree with
granting women more freedoms and excusing them from prescribed roles, but would
never really implement them in their own households…They will directly quote
the bible and then when I ask if they want their daughters to be treated the
same way they say ‘no’”(CT. personal communication, May 11, 2012). Religion
also plays a role is how progressively women are allowed to dress. In
predominately Catholic areas, kangas are more widely accepted, but in Muslim
areas, traditional dresses are more strictly enforced.
Drinking is a
social activity that many people around the world partake in. However, alcohol
is a depressant and lowers your inhibitions, so many unfortunate events happen as
a result of drinking. In the United States, approximately one third of sexual
assaults occur when the perpetrator is under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Pretty much, the only people who are outside after dark are those who are
drinking. Peace Corps Volunteers still find great pleasure in meeting up at
bars or clubs to socialize, “but
the rule of thumb is always travel in a group, never let anyone return alone
and don't drink like you would in America” (AG, personal communication, May 11,
2012).
Even
when being cautious and especially aware of one’s surroundings, becoming a
victim of a crime is always a possibility. According to Chart 1(see page 7), less than one rape was reported by Peace Corps
Volunteers between 2002-2006 in Tanzania. It is the least common crime reported
by volunteers in Tanzania. The Peace Corps promises, “dedicated specialists from the medical, mental
health, security, and legal staffs will be there to help the Volunteer manage
and recover from serious crimes, such as rape and sexual assault” (Safety and
Security, 10).
Adjusting to new social, cultural, and gender norms can be
easier for some, than others. Of the five volunteers I spoke with, all of them
seemed to have adjusted pretty well. They even mentioned that life seems so
normal it is hard to be aware of what is different from American norms. Of
course, I am sure there are many volunteers who are unable to adapt as easily.
I’m sure some women feel stifled by the mandatory clothing, oppressed by men,
and harassed constantly for their single status. I think each person handles
the stress of adjusting in their own way. Some volunteers seem to brush things
off as just a cultural misunderstanding, whereas others really want to know and
respect everything about their new culture. The best piece of advice I received
came from Rebecca. She said, “You
can't work here without being an active part of cultural norming. You also
can't work if you remove all of your ‘self’ from how you behave (RS, personal
communication, May 11, 2012).
Overall, I feel relieved about my safety after having done
all of this research. The statistics prove that there is really not much to fear.
As long as I’m aware of my surroundings and gain respect from host country
nationals, I feel like I will have a fairly safe experience. All of the
volunteers I talked to had never felt like they were in an unsafe situation.
They felt very accepted, safe, and like the fact that host country nationals
were curious about their culture. Leslie said, “I know my whole school/village has got my back, since I am
‘their’ white person (LC. Personal communication, May 11, 2012). I had heard
other people say the same thing about receiving extra protection as the “token
white person” in a village. By respecting their culture, I hope to receive
respect in return.
