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Children and the Experience of Violence: Contrasting Cultures of Punishment in Northern Nigeria

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2011

Murray Last
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Abstract

Arising out of debates over ‘children at risk’ and the ‘rights of the child’, the article compares two contrasting childhoods within a single large society—the Hausa‐speaking peoples of northern Nigeria. One segment of this society—the non‐Muslim Maguzawa—refuse to allow their children to be beaten; the other segment, the Muslim Hausa, tolerate corporal punishment both at home and especially in Qur'anic schools. Why the difference? Economic as well as political reasons are offered as reasons for the rejection of corporal punishment while it is argued that, in the eyes of Muslim society in the cities, the threat of punishment is essential for both educating and ‘civilising’ the young by imposing the necessary degree of discipline and self‐control that are considered the hallmark of a good Muslim. In short, ‘cultures of punishment’ arise out of specific historical conditions, with wide variations in the degree and frequency with which children actually suffer punishment, and at whose hands. Finally the question is raised whether the violence experienced in schooling has sanctioned in the community at large a greater tolerance of violence‐as‐‘punishment’.

Résumé

Faisant suite aux débats menés sur les thèmes des enfants menaces de violence et des droits de l'enfant, cet article compare deux enfances tres différentes au sein d'une vaste société, à savoir les populations de langue Haoussa du Nord du Nigeria. Un segment de cette société, les Maguzawa non musulmans, s'opposent à que leurs enfants soient battus; l'autre segment, les Haoussa musulmans, tolerant les châtiments corporels chez eux mais aussi et surtout dans les écoles coraniques. Pourquoi cette difference? L'article avance des raisons économiques ainsi que politiques au rejet du châtiment corporel, tout en indiquant qu'aux yeux de la société musulmane citadine, la menace d'un tel châtiment est essentielle pour éduquer et «civilise» les jeunes en imposant Ie niveau nécessaire de discipline et de maitrise de soi, qualités considérées comme Ie marque d'un bon musulman. En bref, les «cultures du châtiment» résultent de conditions historiques spécifiques et varient considérablement quant à la sévérité et à la frequence des châtiments subis par les enfants, mais aussi quant à la personne qui les execute. L'article soulève enfin la question de savoir si la violence subie à l'école a sanctionné une plus grande tolerance à l'égard de la violence en tant que «punition» au sein de la communauté dans son ensemble.

Type
Research Article
Information
Africa , Volume 70 , Issue 3 , August 2000 , pp. 359 - 393
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 2000

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