According to 2009 census, 45% of Kenya’s population are aged 15 years and below.
A report published on the Standard Newspaper on July 7, 2016 indicates that 15% of women aged between 15-19 years have already had at least one birth. Citing statistics from the Kenya demographic and health survey of 2004,the report furthers says that slightly more than 3 in every 10 women aged 15-19 with no education have begun child bearing compared with only 12% among those who have secondary or higher level of education.
Teenage pregnancy is a threat to the development of the nation. The causes of teenage pregnancy have been cited to include poverty, low access to contraceptives and of course early marriage which common among the residents of North Eastern Kenya. Teenage pregnancy poses great danger to both the mother and the baby during delivery.
Teenage pregnancy is cited as one of the leading causes of maternal deaths.One way the Ministry of health has tried to end teenage pregnancy is by making contraceptives accessible to youths. There was even a bigger debate last year as to whether condoms should be distributed in schools. The government, in partnership with other stakeholders, have also mounted huge campaigns against early/forced marriages. All these are good measures but I too have a suggestion.
While living in South Kordofan state in Sudan, I witnessed the measures the “government” there is taking to end teenage pregnancy. There, they believe strict laws and penalties are the way to go.
If you are an adult and you make a teenage pregnant, you will regret it for the rest of your life. First, you will be arrested and taken to prison. Before the officers question you or interrogate you to establish the truth, you will be whipped 51 or101 strokes on your bare buttocks, depending on the seriousness of the matter or the circumstances under which the alleged illicit sex occurred.
After that the girl will be summoned and if she confirms it you who put her in the family way, you will either be forced to marry her by paying the customary dowry or you will be forced to pay a penalty whose value is equivalent to the value of the dowry. On top of that, you will be required to pay, in cash, an amount that would have enabled the girl to finish her education. These fines range from Kshs 350,000 to as much as kshs 750,000.
If these laws were to apply here in Kenya, No single man would dare make a teenage girl pregnant. Or would he?