16 June 2018•Update: 17 June 2018
By Andrew Wasike and Magdalene Mukami
NAIROBI, Kenya
As the African nations mark the Day of the African Child on Saturday, thousands of young girls in Africa still have no access to quality education as they are being barred from school due to early pregnancies.
Adolescent mothers are discouraged from continuing their education mostly by their relatives, teachers or policies put in place by African governments that make it hard for them to continue with schooling after becoming mothers.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Njeri, a 17-year-old woman from Central Kenya, said it has been one year since she become mother.
“My teachers didn’t want me to go back to school. I was told that I will be used as a bad example in class,” she said fighting the urge to break into tears.
“My guardians also got tired of taking care of my baby when I used to go to school. Honestly, they complained all the time ‘it is too much for us.’ So, I decided to just stay out of school,” she said.
Wairimu, another young mother, said: “My situation is almost similar to Njeri’s but at least my parents are supportive. One day I hope to go back to finish my high school education.”
It is not in Kenya alone where young mothers are being forced out of school. On June 22, 2017, Tanzania’s President John Magufuli stated: “As long as I’m president, no pregnant students will be allowed to return to school.”
Earlier this week, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report: “In Tanzania, government officials and police have gone so far as arresting pregnant girls and harassing their families to force them to confess who had impregnated them.”
Jamida Kahama, a Tanzanian, told HRW: “When the head teacher found out that I was pregnant, he called me to his office and told me, ‘You have to leave our school immediately because you are pregnant’.”
Despite countries such as Kenya having laws and policies that protect girls’ education during pregnancy and motherhood, Chi-Chi Undie, a researcher from the Human Rights Watch, said: “Not many stakeholders know about these policies and those who know don’t necessarily aware of its contents that this policy is meant to benefit young girls.”
The HRW in their new report have called for laws and policies to be enacted and implemented to ensure that girls get education.
Elin Martínez, a children’s rights researcher at the Human Rights Watch, called on the African Union to intervene and protect the right to education for girls.
