The Response of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania to Girls’ Migration from Iringa Rural Areas to Big Cities in Tanzania

Abstract

This case study represents how the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania deals with the problem of girls migrating from rural areas to cities in Tanzania. The Iringa region is commonly known as a place where girls are recruited or sometimes trafficked to big cities for jobs like household domestics and barmaids. Some studies previously were made from social and economic perspectives, but there have been no direct studies dealing with the problem of migration from the church or done from a religious perspective. For this article the authors drew from a Master thesis written by I. Lunyamaso and supervised by F. Mahali that engaged perspectives from parents and guardians on the ease of allowing their children to migrate into cities for jobs that risked their lives. The study applied in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and document analysis from local government and church institutions. This study found that people within the church are aware of the problem of girls migrating from rural areas in Iringa, Tanzania, to big cities, but they did not have direct diaconal or pastoral responses against the negative effects of girls’ migration to big cities. This article suggests that for the church to respond to this problem, it needs to enrich its diaconal engagement with the Lutheran theological perspective of grace that guarantees the empowerment and wellness of all people regardless of their gender differences. Such a perspective will help the church to address the problem of gender parity in their communities and congregations, as well as engage in confronting injustice based on gender differences.