Adam and Eve

It’s taken me almost three weeks to finally cool down, and somehow objectively write about the following incident.  Regardless, I know that I’m going to get a worried phone call from my mom that ends in a fight because she won’t want me posting anything potentially controversial.  Oh well.

I was having a perfectly pleasant conversation with one of my head teachers discussing this and that about America, Uganda, education, whatever.  You get the picture.  Not a riveting conversation covering any hot topics: religion, money, sex, etc.  Suddenly, out of nowhere, he asks, “So, Madam Chelsea, what are your beliefs?”  Beliefs?  About what?  I still haven’t been able to shake that aspect of my Americanness.  It actually took me a second to figure out what he was talking about.  Usually, I just throw the line that I grew up Protestant… and forget to mention that I’m essentially agnostic.  Believe me, I miss that Americans avoid religion like land mines.  It made my life so much less awkward.  On this day, I just shrugged my shoulders, too tired to even pretend.

His response?  Well, it may shock you.  “Well, in my religion, men and women are not equal.  In fact, women were only created to make men happy.  God created man first, therefore he’s superior.”  I felt like I had been slapped across the face.  In training, Peace Corps tried to prepare us for this moment, but it ends up that you can never be fully prepared.  My gut response was to slap him back, but physically.  Thankfully, I restrained myself.  My next response, although I’m sure I was speaking way too fast and forgetting to annunciate properly, “Yeah, well maybe God realized he made mistakes when he created Adam.  So he decided to make perfection with women.”  He had no response to what I would call a very logical argument.  I honestly have very little recollection of what happened next, but I’m pretty sure that I left as quickly as possible to start teaching.

Now, before I really start getting into this, I want to make something very clear.  I am not singling out Uganda or Ugandans for their beliefs or practices about sex and gender.  Gender equality is a tricky business.  This whole argument must date back to when “men” made fire.  Hey, you never know!  It could have been a woman to figure that one out.  They were the ones trying to cook, right?  I would like to acknowledge that even in America, we have gender issues.  Women do not earn the same salary as men for doing the same work, and there are fewer women in leadership positions.  Did you know that in the United States, one-third of women will experience harassment or assault?  So, we’re not perfect.

Looking beyond the states, the United Nations has officially declared that one of the top priorities for development should be the empowerment of women.  It is a worldwide problem.  Studies have shown that when a country empowers a woman through equal rights, education and employment, the economy improves, the infant mortality plummets, the use of family planning increases, malnutrition decreases, etc.  Armed with more power and knowledge, women become important members in the workforce and can make healthier decisions for her family.

You may be asking… what’s the situation in Uganda?  From what I understand, it’s improved a lot, but we still have a ways to go.  Women are given the same opportunities for education and the same rights.  So the government is on par with the UN’s program.  The burning question?  How do you get people’s attitudes to jump on that bandwagon as well?  The problem does not only lie with men like my head teacher.  Some women themselves do not have the proper attitude.  Let me give you an example: I was asking my P-7 kids what they wanted to do when they grow up.  At least four girls told me they wanted to be a nurse.  Finally, I asked, “But, why not a doctor?”  “Madam, don’t you know?  Women can’t be doctors!”  Huh, I guess I should give my aunts a call.  They must not know.

In most of Uganda, women are expected to do the bulk of domestic chores.  And hello, these are not American chores.  This is backbreaking, all day long, exhausting chores.  Fetching water, washing clothes by hand, sweeping the compound, caring for the kids, digging in the gardens, washing dishes, cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I swear, if my kid ever complains about chores, they’re going to fetch 20 lbs of water on their head from the kitchen to the bathroom.  These women are amazing.  They are awake before the sun is up and must go to sleep after midnight.  I’m really not sure when they sleep!  This domestic responsibility comes at a young age of about four.  Female children are expected to perform all of these duties in order to help her mother and her probably six other siblings.

So, why are women still not empowered in Uganda if they have access to education?  A lot of girls don't finish their primary, let alone secondary, education.  Girls drop out for many reasons.  The list below may not be comprehensive, but it gives you an idea.

1.     Responsibilities at home, such as chores and caring for younger siblings.

2.     Early marriage.  In Uganda, a man must pay a bride price; therefore, if a family is really struggling, it can be tempting to marry the child while she’s still quite young.

3.     Poverty.  She may try to find another way to bring money to her family.

4.     Pregnancy.  The information about sexual and reproductive health can be spotty, and practicing safe sex at an early age is not stressed.  Ugandan schools take an abstinence only stance.

5.     Menstruation management.  Once girls reach puberty, they are not prepared to manage their monthly periods.  Although pads are available, they are considered to be too expensive to buy every month.  Girls will stay home during this time, and begin to miss so much school that they become discouraged.

As a fellow woman, who just so happened to be raised by an ultra feminist, I find the current situation appalling.  Never in my life did I dream that a man would tell me that I was not equal to him in a professional setting.  Can you say fired?  If only we were in America.  Unintentionally, I realized that most of my Peace Corps work is leaning towards girl empowerment.  I’ve got a number of projects in the works or on the ground to help girls gain self-confidence and stay in school!

One of my projects was suggested to me by one of my female teachers.  It just so happens that she teaches at the very school of the head teacher who doesn’t believe in gender equality.  Perfect.  All the female teachers wanted to create a club for the P-5 to P-6 girls to teach them sewing skills, which are practical in domestic life and could potentially provide an extra income.  I jumped on it.  With the approval of the teachers, I gave our club a twist: a positive, safe environment in which the girls will be able to bond with successful, knowledgeable women who will serve role models that they may lack at home.  Plus, we added a life skills session once a month.  Bam!  You’ve got yourself a girl’s club that is targeted to keep her interested in school, to improve her self-worth, to facilitate companionship with her peers and elders, with the potential to become an income generating activity!  I wrote up a lovely club charter to get the ball rolling.

Only two days after our godly meeting, I presented the club charter to the head teacher.  Did he have any questions?  Just one.  “Why are you only helping girls?”  Oh baby, you just set yourself up.  I finally found my tongue.  Maybe after stewing for two days, I was able to have a respectful, but strong response, in a very stern tone to boot.  “Sir, what you said to me the other day was completely inappropriate in a professional setting.  Particularly a school setting.  It is because attitudes like this exist that we need this club.  Women are not treated equally in this country, and we need to help our girl children stay in school.”  Ahhhhh, I felt so much better, although I was shaking due to my intense fear of confrontation.

I know what you’re all thinking.  I even know what some of you are thinking because you’ve told me.  Yeah, so what?  You told off one teacher, at one school.  Are you so self-righteous to think that you actually changed his mind?  You didn’t.  It’s nearly impossible to change people’s minds, especially when they’re on defense.  Just leave it alone Chels, you won’t be able to get him to think differently.

If I’m completely honest with myself, I can admit that you’re probably right.  He’s at least 40 years old.  Pretty set in his ways.  And why would he want things to even out?  Do you think he wants to wash clothes by hand?  Or cook?  Nope.

But that’s a very dangerous way to think.  As a Peace Corps Volunteer, I’m not bringing some fantastic project with an unlimited budget.  Oh no.  It’s just me.  With no funds.  My entire position is to challenge people’s thinking.  I’m here to help teachers improve, which means challenging their current teaching methods.  I’m here to help Ugandans understand Americans, which means challenging all the bizarre rumors they’ve heard.  I’m here to help Americans understand Ugandans, which means challenging our own preconceptions.  I know it’s a long shot, but I don’t care.  If I didn’t think I could make a difference, I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t be able to get up every morning to go to work.  I wouldn’t survive my service.  I have to hope that although my words may go one ear and out the other, my actions and programs can at least get people thinking.  That’s all.  I just want people to think about what’s going on.  About whether or not they agree with it.  And about whether or not they can make a change.

At the end of my service, I doubt I’ll see all the women in my village wearing trousers and refusing to kneel to men.  I do hope that I’ve planted a seed of an attitude change, particularly in my young girls.  I want them to know that they can do anything in the world.  And that if no one believes in them, at least they know that I do.

After I explained my new club to the head teacher, he followed me to the classroom.  He wanted to see me attempt to teach mathematics.  He was surprised to learn that I thought I could tackle P-7 math.  Of course, I teach math better than English.  It’s just how I do.  He couldn’t get over that not only could I explain the concepts, but that the pupils could actually perform the operations after.  Finally, he motioned to the club charter, “So, where did you go to get this typed up?”  “Oh, you know the place by the vet?” “Yeah, they’re great over there.  So fast!” “No, uhh, I actually made them let me type.  I’m much faster.”  He couldn’t believe it.  Maybe I just need to be around more.  Yes, I can do math.  Yes, I can type like a maniac.  Yes, I can wear trousers.  Yes, I can run 8 miles.  Yes, I practice kick boxing (there are even rumors that I'm a boxer).  Yes, I have a bachelor's degree.  Yes, I can drive a car.  And yes, I am a woman.