Lola Kenya Screen

Keeping Films for Children and Youth in Focus

Home » Champions of Pregnant Girls’ Right to Education Could be Punished

Champions of Pregnant Girls’ Right to Education Could be Punished

By Khalifa Hemed
Published July 8, 2017

President John Pombe Magufuli Joseph and other top officials should be focusing on how to build the country by helping everyone complete their education and ending discriminationThe Government of Tanzania should end its hostile rhetoric toward civil society groups helping pregnant girls complete their education.

Eighteen local and international non-governmental organisations have taken issue with Tanzania’s President John Magufuli’s statement on June 22, 2017 that pregnant girls cannot be allowed back to public school even after the birth of their children.

They quote Magufuli as having said, “As long as I’m president, no pregnant students will be allowed to return to school” and that the young mothers could opt for vocational training or become entrepreneurs in businesses but should not be permitted to pursue formal education in public schools.

RELATED:British Charity Donates Books to Rwanda

“Tanzania’s president and other top officials should be focusing on how to build the country by helping everyone complete their education and ending discrimination,” says Elin Martinez, children’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch in a Press Statement issued in Nairobi, Kenya, on July 6, 2017. “Protecting people’s rights not only helps them and their families, but strengthens the whole country.”

Non-governmental organisations have taken issue with Tanzania's President John Magufuli's statement on June 22, 2017 that pregnant girls cannot be allowed back to public school even after the birth of their childrenThe NGOs say that Mwigulu Nchemba, Tanzania’s Home Affairs Minister, threatened on June 25 to de-register organisations that challenged the president’s ban on schooling for pregnant girls and teen mothers.

“The government estimates that 30 out of every 100 girls dropped out of school due to pregnancy in 2015. Many schools routinely force girls to undergo pregnancy tests and expel girls who are found to be pregnant, give birth, or get married, bringing an early end to their formal education,” the NGOs say.

RELATED:This is What Lola Kenya Screen Does

Saying the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party pledged in its 2015 election manifesto to ensure girls who drop out of school due to pregnancy can continue their studies, the NGOs argue that President Magufuli and Minister Nchemba are contradicting “longstanding efforts by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and civil society organizations to develop re-entry guidelines to ensure that girls can go back to school after pregnancy.”

Human Rights Watch say at least 8000 girls are expelled from school every year for getting pregnant.The NGOs call on the Government of Tanzania to “stop threatening the work of nongovernmental organizations” as “Independent civil society plays a crucial role in debates, policymaking and services on critical issues facing Tanzania.”

RELATED:East Africa Grapples With a Children’s Refugee Crisis

LolaKenyaScreen.Org

4 thoughts on “Champions of Pregnant Girls’ Right to Education Could be Punished

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top