Grass-rootin' for Policy Change
"In Zambia, sex is not a negotiation," Gesh Banda, a Grassroot Soccer program assistant, and a 23-year-old native of Lusaka, Zambia, told me the other day during a conversation about Zambian culture. Gesh explained that in a typical Zambian relationship, men control all "terms" of sexual interaction. Women are expected to be submissive, to comply with the demands and desires of their partner, who is often unfaithful. While I was discouraged by what Gesh was telling me, I was not necessarily surprised. After two months of visiting schools and soccer teams throughout Lusaka to monitor the delivery of the GRS curriculum, the difference between young girls and boys was more than clear. Zambian boys come right up to me, asking "how ahh you, how ahh you" and shaking hands. They are not shy about calling me John Cena, their favorite WWF wrestler, or David Beckham (in both cases the similarities unfortunately end at the fact that I am white and have light colored hair). On the other hand, the young girls in the class typically stay seated at their desks, they do not make eye contact with me or the other GRS staff, and they rarely ask or answer questions.