Celebrating my 20th anniversary as a scribe

Exactly 20 years ago, I published my first article in the Children’s Vision section of the New Vision newspaper. As a little child then in primary school, I scarcely had an idea about my professional direction. Today I proudly look back to that brief article and hey, there’s no doubt it forms the foundation of my career in journalism. Reflection about my maiden article: In the year 1993, I completed my Primary Six (P.6). For the first time in my school’s entire history (and I guess it never happens elsewhere), our Class teacher who taught us Mathematics hatched a rare idea. He organized a “P.6 Leavers’ party”. Such kinds of parties most times are held as farewell for candidates having completed Primary Seven, the final stage in lower education. It therefore left a lot to be desired as to why a P.6 Leavers’ party would suffice. At the time, I failed to secure funding for the party from my dad, and as such, I missed the party. A few weeks passed, and news began to emerge. It turned out that our Class Teacher had defiled one of my classmates in a school toilet.

During our days, some girls had such kind of figures that they could easily be confused for adults; but also, the defiled girl was by far one of the most beautiful in the school. The teacher had been too friendly with the girl in the years leading up to the fateful party, and the nasty incident for some of us was not surprising. The teacher in question was later arrested and sentenced to 14 years in prison. The article: When I heard of the development, I gathered some more details through discussions with colleagues who had attended the party. My mind was set on highlighting the unfortunate incident, with the hope that others would learn a lesson. At the time, there were no computers and certainly no internet. I hand-wrote my article, sealed it in an envelope and addressed it to the News Editor at the New Vision. The article I wrote in December of 1993 was not published until February 1994 when I was joining my Primary Seven. I got to see the article through my English teacher, and was initially worried that I might be reprimanded for exposing the incident. On the contrary, my teacher was impressed that I could pull off a well-articulated article that found the favour of the News Editor. Going professional: It was not until the Year 2000, that the thought of pursuing a career in communication came to birth. I enrolled for a Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communication at the Uganda Christian University, igniting a largely memorable journey thus far, involving over 20,800 original articles composed and scribbled by my own hands. Emerging lessons: My first article of 1994 may not have been critically analysed considering my age at the time. Thinking afresh about the same incident now, I feel a burning desire to expound a little more on the same, as incidences of defilement are not unique in Uganda. Was the defilement an accident? In my view, the incident was an outcome of a possibly pre-meditated plot. My classmate was a generally quiet, elegant and charming little figure of a girl. She was also from a well-to-do family, and was very smart. I vividly recall that during class, the teacher in question openly favoured the girl and sometimes wrapped his hands over her shoulders while marking her books. It is also probable that the party he organised must have been a deliberate bait. Such parties sometimes went on till it was dark. Without the party, it was always going to be difficult for the teacher to have any serious romantic moment with the girl, because parents were always on hand to pick up their child after school. How sad, that an individual trusted with a child’s future, should be the very one attempting to ruin it! Moving forward, I know a few schools in town today, which deliberately do not employ male teachers; but how sustainable is this? Parents must demand for a safer learning environment for our children. For example; we could start by banning the practice of children accessing teachers’ residences for whatever reason; ensure that children complete a day’s lessons early enough and get home within strictly stipulated time; student parties must be held in an open environment and must not go on till late; and where possible, classrooms should be constructed in such a way that they are as transparent as possible. Also, students must be properly oriented on all possible tricks that teachers and other adults use to exploit their innocence. Also, a secret reporting mechanism must be explored to enable little whistle-blowers to report suspected incidences. These may include suggestion boxes and counselling sessions. And when all has been done, the harshest repercussions must be stipulated against any teacher suspected to be sexually exploiting children. Are adult girls any safer? And as we reflect on errant teachers, these little girls later in life continue to experience similar trauma, this time versus their lecturers at the university and male employers. Attainment of the age of consent creates a buffer for culprits to skip prosecution. Cases of sex for marks, sex for jobs, and rape at work places, are common occurrences around us -- just because the victims and culprits are above 18! A number of offices around town are also premised in residences formerly designed for homes and in there, female employees face their fate; and because these kinds of incidences are too traumatic to discuss with anyone, many prefer to die in silence, sometimes in fear of losing their jobs. In a nutshell, to be born female for many, seems to be needlessly a lifelong sentence. Gender base vices must be passionately condemned and prevented with whatever effort it takes; for girls/women honestly deserve to live their life happily, and without undue interference or coercion from anyone.

As the world celebrates the 25th Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, we must get back to the drawing board and ask the golden question: How much has been done so far to ensure the safety of the girl child in school? Yes, especially considering that the enemy is sometimes from within.

Tumusiime K. Deo is an international communications consultant based in Kampala, Uganda