Who will save Samburu girls?
What you need to know:
- Teenage pregnancies in Samburu have spiked in the past five months and likely to rise in the coming months.
- Girls continue to experience complications including death due to birth-related complications and unsafe abortions.
- More than 2,000 teenage pregnancies were reported after the December holiday.
- Covid-19 has exposed girls to risks, including domestic violence besides lack of basic necessities.
- Many girls have been subjected to social injustices such as forced marriages and FGM.
- There are worrying reports of drug abuse and illicit brew consumption among teenagers.
- Pregnancies recorded in the county driven by predators who lure the girls with their money then vanish after impregnating them.
Teenage pregnancies in Samburu have spiked in the past five months, women rights activists have revealed, adding that the cases may soar in another two months.
Since Covid-19 containment measures were put in place in Kenya, including closing schools and restricting movement, there has been limited access to information by girls and women in the county.
Director of Gender Culture and Social Services, Letipila Nasiaku, warns that the number of teenage pregnancies are likely to rise in the coming months.
Ms Nasiaku adds that cultural expectations in Samburu surrounding abstinence has resulted in a surge of unwanted pregnancies since January.
NEGATIVE EFFECTS
"It is alarming that many teenage girls have fallen pregnant in Samburu as schools remain closed. This will have lifelong consequences and that is why we are extremely concerned," says Ms Nasiaku.
She notes that child-bearing during adolescence often has negative effects to parents, their children and the society.
"Many girls in this region continue to experience complications including death due to birth-related complications and unsafe abortions," the official reveals.
Ms Nasiaku notes that more than 2,000 teenage pregnancies were reported after the December holiday.
"The worst is yet to come because data that was recorded captured unintended pregnancies resulting from December holiday. In the next few weeks, cases could double," she notes.
She acknowledges that Covid-19 has exposed girls to risks, including domestic violence besides lack of basic necessities.
Samburu Girls Foundation estimates that thousands of young girls in the face increasing threats to their safety and well-being including mistreatment, gender-based violence and exploitation.
PREPARE FOR WORSE
Executive director Josephine Kulea while speaking to the Nation, notes that many girls have been subjected to social injustices such as forced marriages and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
"We should prepare for the worse because there is a lot happening. Young boys and girls are engaging in illegal activities and that is why we will have a surge in teenage pregnancies in the next few months," Dr Kulea says.
She notes that there are worrying reports of drug abuse and illicit brew consumption among teenagers in Samburu.
Dr Kulea says schools closure has disadvantaged girls who are now not getting support from mentors and the schools.
Network Empowering Samburu Transformation (NEST), a community-based organisation, indicates that most pregnancies recorded in Samburu County are driven by predators who lure the girls with their money then vanish after impregnating them.
NEST Executive officer Silvana Lesuuda notes that most girls in the region offer sex for money for upkeep due to high poverty levels.
"They think it is the right option but this puts them (girls) at risk of contracting HIV/Aids and early pregnancies," she notes.
