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This study examined gender relations in the discourse of Sukuma songs in Kishapu district, in Shinyanga region. The study had three specific objectives: to examine Sukuma cultural lives with regard to gender relations in the discourse of Sukuma songs; to examine the aspects of gender inequalities in the discourse of Sukuma songs; and to assess the power of discourse of Sukuma songs in enhancing sensitization on gender equality and in bolstering gender inequality. The study adopted an ethnographic research design. Purposive and snowballing sampling procedures were used to get a total of 26 singers; 11 key informants; and 30 participants for focused group discussions. The study used primary and secondary sources of data, which were collected through interviews, direct observation, focused group discussions and document analysis. An eclectic procedure, which combined Thematic Coding Approach (TCA) and Discourse Analysis (DA) based on Poststructuralist and Third World feminist theories were used to analyse the data.
The study found that the life of the Sukuma people is controlled by unfair gendered roles in such aspects as leadership and authority, social organization, and the institutions of marriage. Besides, patriarchal ideology was found manifested in male chauvinistic tendencies exercised over the less privileged groups, such as women and children, who had no power to influence changes, to inherit and/or own family properties and take responsibilities in family care and management, in relation to men. Moreover, it was found that these songs played a great role in bolstering gender inequality, which in one way, led to gender sensitivity among the people. On the other hand, these songs, in some ways, were found to encourage loss of courage and confidence causing despair among the women, leading to their passive acceptance of the low status in the Sukuma society.
Finally, based on the findings, it is recommended that, in order to solve the problems that encourage gender inequality among the Sukuma people, the organizations and institutions which deal with gender issues should extend their emancipative services, particularly, to the villages where women suffer from the consequences of inequality resulting from inherited cultural practices. |
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