Borgman, D. (1989). Adolescent pregnancies in Kenya. S. Hamilton, MA: Center for Youth Studies.

OVERVIEW

A perusal of Kenyan periodicals in 1988-89 reveals a growing discussion of adolescent pregnancies. The daily newspapers Drum, True Love, Parents, and STEP all voice concern.

Headlines from the Daily Nation speak clearly of the problem:

• Schoolgirls and Unwanted Pregnancies: 10,000 Girls Abandon Studies Each Year due to Unwanted Pregnancies. (Muya, W. [1988, October 1].)
• Early Motherhood Peril: Conference in Nairobi Reveals that Half the African Women who start bearing children before age of 15 die before end of child-bearing age. (Mwakelemu, J. [1989, February 10].)
• Teenage Pregnancy Needs More Attention. (Mwakelemu, J. [1989, February 22].)
• Pregnancies Interfering With Studies at Varsity. (Ouma, O. [1988, December 16].)
• What Is To Be Done about Teenage Pregnancies? (Moraa, B. [1989, March].)
• Girl Pregnant When She Died: Body of Pregnant School Girl Alleged to be Killed by her Boyfriend and Another Man. (Njunguna, M. [1989, April 15].)

A study by Dr. Ferguson of Kenya’s Ministry of Health revealed that, in 1987 alone, 6,637 girls quit school because of pregnancy. ([1988, December 16]. Daily Nation.)

A study conducted by Professor J.K. Mati at the University of Nairobi School of Medicine indicates the challenges facing Kenya:

• At age fourteen a teenager is most likely to have sex.
• 42% Of rural and 24% of urban girls have had sex.
• 53% Of boys believe sex is only way to show love and necessary to keep a love affair going.
• 62% Of girls believe that only married persons should have sex.
• 47% Of boys believe that only married persons should have sex.
• About 35% of boys and 60% of girls believe a woman cannot get pregnant if she has sex during her menstruation period.
• 94% Of urban girls and 96% of rural girls do not use contraceptives.

In one of the above articles (1989, February 22) Mwakelemu writes:

 

A girl is caught up in circumstances she herself can’t explain. She walks around confused, unsure of what she should do next. She is 13 and pregnant.

She may not be too sure what this means to her life. Soon, her parents will be shocked, angry and probably throw her out of home.

But that is only the beginning of her problems. There are many others like her. Teenage pregnancy has become a big problem all over Africa. And a recent conference on Options for Better Life for Young Women held in Nairobi, identified it as one of the major problems facing young women.

 

About this problem Nebere Baraa of Kombewa wrote to the Daily Nation editors (1989, February 10):

 

I don’t understand (though I’m not encouraging them) why after a schoolgirl has conceived and given birth she should not be allowed back at school to continue with her studies. Why should the ‘young mother’ who has undergone the psychological torture of the unexpected pregnancy be denied an opportunity to better herself academically, a move that might help her bring up the innocent child more responsibly.

 

Further issues surround this problem: How much sex education do and should teens receive? What about contraceptives for the young? Why is the pregnancy issue about girls and not the boys and men involved? Does the society drive girls to abortions?

Ezekiel Mutonyi Reuben of Nairobi wrote to Daily Nation editors (1989, October 16) warning girls to beware "exposing their beauty to Sugar Daddies" who offer material enticements for actions that will deprive them of schooling later on. Jane Atieno offered this to the same newspaper (1989, October 18):

 

Male teachers in most primary schools take advantage of their positions to misuse pupils who fear and respect them. I wonder why a trained teacher should seduce a primary school pupil. To make matters worse, the pupils are sent to fetch water and wash dishes in teachers’ houses. This is the time the girls are sexually assaulted.

 

Also within Daily Nation Boaz S. Inyama of Nairobi responded (1988, November 3) to a girl who had complained that "boys, not schoolgirls are to blame" (1988, October 6):

 

I agree with the writer that boys should be blamed for making girls pregnant. It should be understood that sex involves two people—two people agree to make love. When a girl becomes pregnant, both the girl and the boy should be blamed.

The girl who wrote the article suggested that boys should use condoms instead of girls taking pills. I advise her and others that sex is only for married people. Unmarried people who engage in sex are committing sin called fornication.

Boys and girls should concentrate on their studies and helping their parents. Unlawful sex will only destroy their present and future life.

 

How much need is there for sex education of youth? A Daily Nation letter from Francis O. Osewe of Kisumu (1989, May 21) suggests that "Sex Ignorance is a Curse for Youth." He notes: "Parents have unabashedly continued to play the role of spectators as their children have persistently blundered in matters pertaining to sex." The letter points to a traditional reluctance of parents to deal with such a subject, the absence of a proper relative, the change of the times, and general ignorance.

To the Amani counselors a young woman wrote in Daily Nation (1989, November 16):

 

I am a 21-year-old girl and a virgin. I have been petting with my boyfriend since April this year. It is the only way to relieve my sexual desires. Sometimes ejaculation takes place very near my vagina...Can I be pregnant while still a virgin?

 

An editorial in the Sunday Standard (1989, February 12) declares, "Adolescents Badly Need Guidance." It argues that parents must take first responsibility:

 

All we are saying is that the best person to give this basic and important education is the person closest to the potential victim and that person is the mother or a much older sister. Sex education at the classroom level and at church level is communal and can be viewed as such by the recipients. It is, in other words, supplementary.

 

The confusion and strain surrounding sex in the lives and minds of young people these days is reflected in two more Daily Nation letters (1989, August 10):

 

Dear Amani, I am a girl aged 22 years and working in Mombasa. I am saved, and I therefore believe that God is happy with those who marry when they are still virgins. Now my problem is that I have been wishing to meet a boyfriend who does not insist on sex before marriage, but all in vain...I once had a boyfriend who kept insisting on sex...he told me, ‘there is no love without sex.’ I am desperate and I can’t break God’s commandment...But where do I get one...Is it true that no man will marry a virgin? Please advise me before it is too late. This problem has become like a disease in me.

Dear Amani, I am a girl of 18...and need help as well as advice from you. My problem is that there is a guy of 23 who has been bothering me since 1983...I refused because I want to continue school. Also I feel it is wrong to accept his friendship because I am saved and I am still too young to consider marriage. What can I do that he may leave and forget me? Please advise me before I commit suicide in order to escape all his disturbances.

 

What about contraceptives for sexually active teenagers? The opinions of letter writers in Daily Nation strongly combat the idea:

• Condoms abet immorality... (1988, September 26).
• Contraceptives will ruin girls... (1988, October 3).
• The condom is cursed... (1989, February 3).

Both the Kenya Catholic Secretariat (KCS) and the National Council of Churches (NCCK) have taken a stand against encouraging young people in the use of contraceptives—as a position that would lead to promiscuity and immorality. Most religious groups in Kenya agree.

On the other hand, many leading medical experts and doctors who deal with young pregnant women, along with some social workers and family planning specialists, decry what they see as a denial of reality. "Young people are having sex and need to be protected against pregnancy and disease," they plead.

"At centre stage is the Ministry of Education, playing the role of the honest broker." (Muya, W. [1988, October 1].) Educational leaders like Mr. Peter Oloo Aringo ask for a consensus of strategies before the problem becomes uncontrollable.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

1. What is your initial reaction to the Daily Nation headlines and statistics?
2. What is your more reasoned reaction to those headlines? What questions do you want to raise, and what further information and discussion do you need?
3. Do you think that pregnant girls should be allowed to continue in school? Should they be allowed back after delivering?
4. Do these young people receive enough sex education? What do you think should be done about this?
5. Should concentration focus more on girls or boys in dealing with the problem of early, unwanted pregnancies? What should be done about the older men involved?
6. How do you stand on the question of providing sexually active teenagers with contraception?
7. How many young girls seek abortions? How should hospitals and health authorities address this problem?
8. Do you agree with Jane Atieno above who thinks that in "most primary schools" there are some teachers taking advantage of girl students? Is this a worldwide issue, or is this a cultural distinction?
9. Do you agree with what Boaz Inyama is saying in his open letter? How many unmarried people are having sex outside of marriage in your country these days? What can be done about it?
10. Does Boaz Inyama give the full answer to this problem? Explain.
    

IMPLICATIONS

1. Teenage pregnancy demands attention and action. Although some will point to one factor or one direction for dealing with this problem, the question must be seen through multiple perspectives:

• The stress of adolescent change and sexual awakening.
• The passing of traditional values and supports.
• The weakening of the family.
• The impact of modern mass media.
• Ignorance.
• Morality.
• Religious faith.

2. What are the roles of government, NGOs, schools, church, community and family in dealing with this issue?What responsibilities do youth workers have in dealing with this problem?

3. What should be the balance of the Bible and religious study with social science and discussion?

Dean Borgman cCYS