Parents have a critical role to play in combating early pregnancies and unsustainable marriages amongst school going girls, Nyamira Women Representative has reckoned.
In her statement posted on a whatsap group on Wednesday, Alice Chae noted negative repercussions of early pregnancies saying it had contributed directly to high rates of school dropouts and early marriages which were uncalled for.
“Early pregnancies lead to early motherhood which isn't a good sign to a highly moral society. We have seen our children drop out of schools and some resort to early marriages which are more often not sustainable to our young girls,” she said.
She challenged parents to take their responsibility roles by guiding their girls, and cautioned them against abandoning them whenever they find themselves in the situation.
“As parents, we have a prime responsibility to protect our girls from such menaces. We must also accept them whenever they find themselves in such predicaments because they are our children,” she added.
“We have to make them feel loved so that to prevent cases in which some of them resort to abortions which lead to deaths or even commercial sex for sustainability. Victims deserve second chance and we must denounce a parent who makes the lives of their girls’ hell when they conceive early,” she added.
She also challenged authorities to take stern actions against perpetrators of the crime, saying it would help combat the menace to some extent.
“Those men subjecting our young girls to torture must be dealt with. The law must take its course and it’s upon authorities to ensure that something is done to curb such inhuman acts,” she said.
“It’s my wish that parents also should continue supporting victims by taking them back to school and that includes dropping the negative attitude towards them,” she added in her statement.