On Pemba , almost everybody is Muslim. This said, the practice of the Muslim faith is of course a local adapted version, with many traces of other and sometimes older, Bantu African features. Incorporated into this local Muslim faith is a widespread belief of typical African witchcraft. Most villagers happily combine the two, in which degree of course varies per person and per town or village.

Women in Muslim Pemba are important, though at first sight are not very visible. There is a difference between various parts of the island, between village and town, and even between families. Public life is male dominated, most outdoor jobs are done by men, and school attendance for girls drops dramatically after 16 years. Professional skills, securing her of a job, are hard to gain for a woman. Slowly though, more women are involved in a few outdoor jobs; cleaning ladies in hotels, the kitchen, some government offices offer lower jobs, and some foreign NGO’s seek to work with women.

Having stated this poor outlook of women in public life, women in Pemba are important. They have the respect of their men, as they are the one everybody needs to have a home. A clean, well running home, where lots of children and people need to be looked after. Simple household chores mean manual labor, this needs a strong woman. A woman is always a member of a large, economic unit of female relatives who form a formidable pool of labour, help, and social security. As for public life, women do go to the market, shop, sell small sweets, baskets and are very good seamstresses, but you won’t see her selling farm produce, running a shop or selling fish. They have a background role, but active, more so than Zanzibar .

Maybe this is because Pemba (see history chapter) was left to its devices more than Zanzibar . Zanzibar was under the strong influence of Arab traders of higher classes, wearing a real buibui, the all black cover for women, turned into a status symbol in Zanzibar (Stone Town).  Today, many women wear this on Zanzibar , but much less so on Pemba . The Pemban woman wears Kangas, and always a haircover when outside.

Pemba also had many ties with the Arab world, but far fewer settled here, or the lower classes did, with a lot less stricter appliance. At the end of December, a sudden rise in the number of buibuis can be seen on the streets; family from the Arab countries come over for weddings and celebrations of Ramadhan.  

With such a network of world wide family ties, many Pemban women have family abroad, get visitors from overseas, go there themselves and inevitably have their own experiences.  Of course, a large number of poorer Pembans will never leave island or town, but still, the international character of  families on Pemba gives the women especially, a much stronger position. Perhaps not in public, but in private and in their own realms, certainly so.

For the woman coming to Pemba , this all means that a certain dress code is the most eye catching mark of women. Modest, not showing too much skin, not too tight or see-through. When coming to Pemba , as a woman wear a long skirt or loose trousers, at least a T-shirt, or a shawl, and don’t smoke in public. When diving, it is generally agreed that “sportspeople” wear  “sports outfits”, so a pair of shorts or a sarong is ok. But to walk around in a bikini in the harbour village is a definite no.

We do not check what you wear, unless we really think it is not done. We count on your own sensibility. Pemba is still very quiet, peaceful and has almost no “papasi”, those infamous beach-boys who will spot any foreign woman on her own from miles away. People will come up and say hello, to wish you welcome or offer you tea. This is a basic Pemban – Swahili thing to do, and has nothing to do with being a woman. A guest is most important, and that is how Pembans still regard their tourists: as guests. All we need to do is behave like one.

As a woman, you will be approached by men mainly, as they are used to acting in public life. The women may look shy, and are usually hampered by no knowledge of English, but will be delighted if you take the first step and greet them, making it easier for them.