Grappling with women emancipation; the role of theatre in awakening women and men against female circumcision: a case of Bashay and Upper Kitete villages, Karatu district, Arusha.

This study deals with Women's Emancipation by using theatre in awakening women to fight against female circumcision. The study aimed at researching the role that theatre can play in raising awareness about female circumcision. It was based in Karatu District, in Arusha Region and concentrated on two villages, Bashay and Upper Kitete. Background research was done in both villages to determine views held on female circumcision, and then a community based theatre was produced and performed in Upper Kitete while in Bashay no theatre was produced, and it acted as a control village. Among the major findings, one can cite is how highly female circumcision is regarded by both men and women, the influence of age, gender, education and wealth on people's attitude towards tradition and customs such as female circumcision. The young men, the educated and wealthy persons had less commitment on the practice. Another important finding is the power of theatre to empower the powerless. It gives women the courage to speak in front of men and also empowered them to condemn female circumcision by hitherto un thought of. The study is presented in five chapters. Chapter one provides background information on social, cultural and economic situation of the studied area. Chapter Two is the survey of available literature. Chapter Three discusses methodological procedures. Chapter four presents and analyses research findings obtained from the field. In view of the research questions and the objective of the study. The final chapter contains a summary, conclusion and recommendations.