Stop the blame game and end schoolgirl pregnancies madness

Simbarashe Msasanuri
Bongoblast


As the historic FIFA 2010 World Cup continues, many hearts have been left broken after some teams were defeated and some humiliated. Though many African teams were beaten during their first games last week, and judging from their performance, I feel it will be an uphill task for the trophy to remain in Africa.

I came closer to selling my TV set after two painful defeats last week. When the hosts South Africa were walloped 3-0, it was clear to me that we still have a long way as a continent in as far as soccer is concerned. But, the match between Cameroon and Japan left me frustrated because I believed the coach was at fault.

I might not be a soccer player, neither am I a coach but as a fan, I feel the Cameroonian coach should have taken the game seriously and selected his best team. What continued to boggle my mind is that, he opted for less experienced players, while resting most of his best players, some of whom he introduced as substitutes,but the harm had already been done. I feel, he underestimated Japan and for that, he paid dearly.

Now Cameroon, face a daunting task as they will have to win against the inform Netherlands and Belgium. Lets just wait and see, maybe a miracle will happen. I know most of you dear readers are supporting African teams during the world cup and I urge you to continue doing so until the cup remains on this continent.

While many soccer players continue to score goals during the WC many men in this country have also been condemned for being experts in scoring offsides. They continue scoring despite the referees having blown their whistles to signal an offside. I am talking about the problem bedevilling our country of which if drastic measures are not taken, then this social anomaly will thrive, in the end tarnishing our image.

The problem of school girls being impregnated and being forced out of schools with their hopes for pursuing their educational dreams virtually shattered, has been with us for a long time now. In fact, it has reached fever pitch and if drastic measures are not taken, then the bulk of our women will remain uneducated as their education is cut short as circumstances force them to prematurely taste the forbidden fruit.

To them it becomes forbidden because they are still too young and have plenty of time in future to enjoy it. While in the Bible, it was the snake that swayed the woman, who in turn went on to persuade her husband to eat it, it seems in this day and age, the tables have turned. It's now men who go around hunting small girls, they easily manipulate and persuade into tasting something they are not ready to.

For the past week the debate on the problem seems to have reached boiling point as the nation is trying to find a solution to this hideous issue. This even went as far as statehouse where besides the President adding his voice on the problem, a delegation of students visited him to discuss this among many other issues.

The children asked the President why students who fall pregnant were not allowed back in school. Yes this might seem as part of the solution as the educational dream of these young girls will be revived, but this leaves an indelible mark on the lives of these girls who are forced to live with the stigma and discrimination.

While the nation is still playing the blame game, blaming each other over the problem, many sectors of the society have been pointed out and these include the girls themselves as they are said to be responsible for falling pregnant , while others blame it on the government, some point fingers on men while others think that the families are not doing enough to protect these young ones.. In fact, the list is endless.

A certain preacher, addressing a congregation on parenthood, argued that the primary reason for teen pregnancies and deviance is because parents don't tell their children the truth. He was of the opinion that in most societies, many if not all parents find it very difficult to discuss matters concerning sex with their children and in the end they lie to them.

He gave an example of a mother who tells her daughter that the child should not let let men touch her body, but when the daughter asks the reason the mother is saying so, she usually lies to her and say, if a man touches your body you become pregnant.

When a man confronts the kid and tries to touch her, she will scream, at him and once the man convinces her that touching does not make her pregnant and that her mother lied to her, then it will be very easy for the girl to believe what the man will be telling her. I don't know whether its true or not dear reader but it is up to you to decide, but I know for sure that many parents lie to their children and in the end they get the information from wrong sources and by the time the parents realises it, then it will be too late.

To tell the truth, the problem of pregnancies in school is not fueled by one aspect, but a combination of causes, that should be looked at before it's too late. Yes for a long time, poverty has been blamed as the number one cause and is said to be driving these girls into sex for survival but for how long shalkl we continue hiding behind our fingers, while our children's future continue being bleak.

The other reason again is the society, I think once a society fails to respect children's rights, whereby they use children as tools for amassing wealth, by forcing their young daughters to marry men older than their fathers, then a girl child will lose self respect and will always think that they were created to be married. This is dangerous in the sense that these girls will not hesitate to engage in sex since the society would have made them to believe that they are mere sex tools.

I believe that beside all those other factors contributing to these pregnancies, society is to blame to a larger extent though the government, parents, teachers and the girls themselves are equally to blame. A holistic approach is, therefore, needed to deal with this problem once and for all.

The only solution is for us to unite and stop this madness. Let's get back to the drawing board and deal with problems affecting family units in this country as they play the most important part in shaping characters of these young ones.
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If all people could respect, educate, mold and protect the children and make sure that they value themselves then the problem will be resolved. I remember the saying that, acha tuwe ndege kwasababu mayai haana supu, this is loosely translated as let the eggs hatch for they don't have soup. In other words, this is a message directed to all men to leave these young girls until they mature because trying to catch them when they are too young is counter productive.

If we can get it into our thick heads that what we are doing to someone's child can be done on ours tomorrow then this part of the world will become a better place for our children. Together we can end this problem. God bless you

bongoblast@thisday.co.tz