The Anglican church and female education in the old diocese of central Tanganyika: 1920-1970

This study examines the role of the Anglican Church in the provision of female education in the old Diocese of Central Tanganyika, basing on two ethnic groups, the Gogo and the Kaguru. The study has principally drawn on archival and oral sources, through interviews, and employs a multi-disciplinary approach to interpret the data. That is to say the study integrates a relatively wide range of disciplines: history, anthropology, sociology, theology and science of religion to lend meaning to the collected information. Feminist theory has been used as the main conceptual tool of analysis for this work. In their provision of female education, almost all missions were biased in regard to the subjects taught. Most subjects intended for females reflected their socially constructed gender roles. Initially mission education was provided to both males and females so that they could read the Bible. Over time however, gender-specific objectives came into play along with evangelization. Study findings reveal that the education provided by the church to female members was mainly domestic in emphasis. Therefore, the education provided, wittingly or unwittingly, gave rise to gender discrimination in ways that disadvantaged females in society. The study further reveals that up to 1970, women in the Diocese of Central Tanganyika were not sufficiently educated to be included in leadership positions in the church and even in other institutions, such as those pertaining to education and health provision. Most of the women who were educated between 1920 and 1970 were trained as secretaries, teachers and nurses, while the majority of Gogo and Kaguru girls became housewives because they did not make it to school due to various reasons including local customs especially girl child labour and early marriages for females.