Very few are there who dare to take such bold step against the will of family and friends. Yes! I am taking about young brave girl of Maasai community, Neema Laizer in Tanzania who ran away from her place to be educated. Certainly the young girl realizes the meaning and benefits of education. Like any other African country, Tanzanian women are facing discrimination, violence, and disrespect in every walk of life. The Maasai, an indigenous African ethnic group of semi-nomadic people are the most well-known African ethnic groups internationally due to their distinctive customs and dress. The women especially in rural areas are the worst affected. They cannot decide on the number of children in the family though they are the ones playing a big role in child rearing.
In this east African country, early marriage, female genital mutilation, forced marriage, and violence against Maasai women are widely in practice. Now, slowly, women of Maasai community have stared raising voice against it. If you believe on The Pastoral Women’s Council, a non-government organization, at least three Maasai girls run away from home daily to escape arranged marriages. However the men of this community are trying their best to overpower women. Women had been raped, beaten up, forced to marry men decades older are very common in most of the families.
We all know Change is inevitable. The women who have come forward to empower the Maasai people through education, health, and economic development should be provided with security and funds for their projects. It is need of hour to integrate the Maasai way of life with the modern world, while conserving and celebrating Maasai cultural heritage.
