In 2013, all the countries that make up the African Union (AU) adopted Agenda 2063, a continent-wide economic and social development strategy. © 2018 Smita Sharma for Human Rights Watchīut the international legal obligation of all governments to provide all children with an education, without discrimination, is clear. She wants to go to college and study nursing. Her father tried to marry her off to suitors after she gave birth, but Angela’s mother fought against this and supported her return to school. Angela became pregnant when her trainee teacher offered to pay some of her primary school fees in return for sex. She is a Form 4 student at a girls-only school. “Angela,” 20, walks with her son near her home after returning from school in Migori county, western Kenya. In some of the countries researched for this report, education is regarded as a privilege that can be withdrawn as a punishment. The effect of this discourse is that pregnant girls – and to a smaller extent, school boys who impregnate girls– have faced all kinds of punishments, including discriminatory practices that deny girls the enjoyment of their right to education. These debates often focus on arguments around “morality,” that pregnancy outside wedlock is morally wrong, emanating from personal opinions and experiences, and wide-ranging interpretations of religious teachings about sex outside of marriage. The right of pregnant-and sometimes married-girls to continue their education has evoked emotionally charged discussions across African Union member states in recent years. Adolescent girls who have early and unintended pregnancies face many social and financial barriers to continuing with formal education.Īll girls have a right to education regardless of their pregnancy, marital or motherhood status. Every year, thousands of girls become pregnant at the time when they should be learning history, algebra, and life skills. The African continent has the highest adolescent pregnancy rates in the world, according to the United Nations.
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