A report by Human Rights Watch says about 8,000 Tanzanian girls drop out of school every year due to pregnancy. PHOTO | AFP
Tanzania's coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) has
vowed to continue campaigning for the re-admission to school for girls
after giving birth.
The lobby group said, in a
statement, that its members were not afraid of the threat by Home
Affairs minister, Mwigulu Nchemba, to ban organisations campaigning for
the teen mothers' return to school.
President John Magufuli on Thursday last week ruled out giving teen mothers a second chance in public schools.
The Tanzanian leader said the CSOs advocating the re-entry opportunity should build their own schools for the girls.
'Educating parents'
“The
government is giving out free education for students from Standard One
to Form Four, with a budget amounting to Ksh18.78 billion ($8.5m) every
month, and now you want me to educate the parents? That’s impossible,”
President Magufuli said.
The acting director-general of the Legal and Human Rights
Centre, Ms Anna Henga, said CSOs would not compromise on the rights of
girls.
“We cannot remain silent on this issue, our
motivation is the girls themselves, their quality of life and the
opportunities they have to progress. Women and girls make 51 per cent of
the population in Tanzania so there is a bigger need for the government
to reconsider its decision,” she said.
Our existence
“What
we are doing here is our existence, we were registered for the purpose
of defending and advocating right of the people, we shall maintain our
positions according to the law,” she said.
The
coalition said it would not stop making noises on issues of public
interest and that CSOs deregistration should follow legal procedures.
The
lobby's statement said majority of citizens were in favour of girls
being allowed to continue with their education and that the government
should consider public opinion.
Zanzibar
The
importance of education for teen mothers, explained Ms Henga, has also
been stipulated in the 2015 election manifesto of the ruling Chama cha
Mapinduzi (CCM) and the Education and Training Policy (2014), which also
make reference to removing barriers to schooling.
“Even
neighbouring countries like Kenya have the re-entry policies, moreover
Zanzibar has since 2010, allowed girls back in school after giving birth
as a strategy for reducing the number of dropouts,” she elaborated.
The
executive director and a founder of girls’ right advocacy Msichana
Initiative, Ms Rebecca Gyumi, underscored the need for continued public
and policy debates on the matter, saying there was a huge opportunity
for the government to learn from the public.
“Their
views and wisdom should be considered, matters of public interest
require intensive debate from stakeholders in order to find the best way
forward for all,” she explained.
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