“We feel powerless – we’re not being listened to and are being ignored.”

These are the words of Tatu Ibrahim, a 16-year-old student from Mtae, a village in the district of Lushoto, Tanzania, who believes that corporal punishment has gone too far.

Corporal punishment is the physical punishment of people, often children. The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child defines it as “any punishment in which physical force is used and intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort, however light”. This often involves hitting with a hand but can involve other implements and other forms of physical abuse.

The practice is widespread in Tanzania, especially in schools, homes, churches and mosques. In 2002, the country’s law changed to reduce incidents of severe and aggressive abuse by teachers. The Education (Corporal Punishment) Regulations still allow corporal punishment in schools but only under certain circumstances.

The head of the school is the only one allowed to provide punishment, it must only be used in serious situations, it must not exceed four strokes with “a light, flexible stick” on the pupil’s hand or clothed buttocks, and the punishment must be recorded in written form.

But schools in Tanzania, particularly government-owned ones, often ignore these rules.

According to a 2022 report from UNICEF, no reliable data has been collected on the prevalence of corporal punishment in schools in Tanzania, but existing evidence suggests that the use of corporal punishment is widespread.

The report warned that corporal punishment “carries multiple risks of harm and has no benefits”, and that it “violates children’s right to education, creating a violent and intimidating environment in which children are less able to learn”.

But violent discipline of children is widespread around the world. In Tanzania, it is still very common in schools and homes. People who practice it believe that it is part of traditional culture and also a way to discipline and encourage respect. “Spare the rod and spoil the child” is a common saying used by people who support this type of punishment.

Beating and burning

Some parents go beyond physical punishment, often inflicting visible wounds and also emotional abuse when trying to discipline their kids. This happens often and is treated as something normal.

In January, a woman in Moshi, north Tanzania, was arrested for allegedly beating and burning her nephew’s hands after he borrowed her coat to keep himself warm at night.

In February 2025, Mhoja Maduhu, a secondary-school student, was killed after being struck multiple times on the head with a stick for not completing a geography assignment. She was taken to hospital, but did not survive. The teacher who was responsible for her death was not sent to prison but given a 12-month conditional discharge.

A month later, Khudhaifa Salim Hamisi, a second-grade student from Msufini primary school in Dar es Salaam, suffered a broken arm after being brutally beaten by a teacher. No action was taken against the teacher.

There have been further reports in recent years of children being severely beaten with sticks and belts or burned because they misbehave. Others insult and humiliate their kids, calling them inappropriate names, denying them food or locking them outside.

In March 2025, two Tanzanian rights groups, the Legal and Human Rights Centre and the Tanzania Education Network, held a joint press conference warning of the “alarming” rise in student injuries and deaths due to corporal punishment in schools.

 

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What students told me

Mwanamvua Abdallah, a 15-year-old student, says she has seen similar acts of violence both at home and in school. “I’ve seen several. One time, I watched a parent beat their child and burn their mouth because of lying.”

It’s a warm Sunday afternoon when I meet with Abdallah and 15 other students, all from Mambo village in the Lushoto district, who tell me about their own experiences of corporal punishment. Before Abdallah can continue her thoughts, another student, Abdul Mshimbula, cuts her off. “We don’t share things happening in our homes to the outside world,” he says.

A major issue when it comes to corporal punishment in Tanzania is culture, social norms and lack of basic education. Growing up, children are taught: ‘family matters always stay private’, ‘don’t answer to the elderly even if they are wrong’, ‘adults are always right’, ‘if you disobey rules you will never be successful’. This leads to children staying quiet even when facing extreme abuse.

When asked whether punishment changed their behaviour, responses from children were different. Some believed it helped them avoid repeating mistakes, while others disagreed, saying that punishment often failed to solve anything.

Another Mambo student, Zakati Omary, also 16, added: “Repeated punishment never changed certain behaviours.”

Every student I interviewed had witnessed other children being physically punished. Some described seeing classmates beaten at school, while others had witnessed severe punishment at home. Several students said they had seen children left with injuries after being punished by teachers or parents.

Most students said they felt powerless to challenge teachers or other adults. Some told me reporting abuse rarely leads to meaningful action and may sometimes even worsen their situation by damaging their relationship with their teachers. They are fearful of being disliked by teachers and other fellow students if they report abuse.

When I asked them what corporal punishment should be replaced with, the majority supported alternatives such as counselling, guidance and the temporary removal of activities they enjoy. They told me their current school does this infrequently, even though it works better than being physically punished.

The students I spoke with told me they can’t really imagine what they want their futures to look like, because they have never experienced anything different. Change comes when people come together and act rather than waiting for the same problem to keep happening.