Tuseme is an empowerment programme that enables boys and girls to understand the challenges that affect them, articulate these problems and take action to solve them.
Moreover, the TUSEME model provides girls and boys with skills to effectively participate in transformation of gender relations to eliminate discrimination and inequalities which characterize Tanzania societies.
The main aim of TUSEME is a student centered approach that uses theatre for development techniques to enhance equitable participation between boys and girls by having affirmative action for developing leadership skills for girls.
This model has been adopted and mainstreamed into Tanzania Secondary Education Development Plan (SEDP) of 2000-2009 and replicated into more than 41 districts in partnership with UNICEF and UNESCO through Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MOEST) and President Office Regional Administration and Local Government (PORALG) as well as Save the Children.
The FAWE Regional Secretariat (FAWERS) has replicated the TUSEME Model in more than 13 different African countries. TUSEME has resulted into enhancing girls’ and boys’ self-confidence, and social and academic development.
Improvement has also been noted in girls’ self-esteem, leadership skills, and social and life skills while offering mutual support for positive action. Teachers who have been involved in the TUSEME process have had positive attitude change towards girls and significant reduction in sexual harassment has been observed.
One of the major results of TUSEME at primary school level is the reduction of incidences of school-girl pregnancies, with three quarter involved schools reporting no pregnancy cases in the past two years.