Kisii Woman Rep pleads with teen mothers to return to school
Teenage mothers in Kisii County have been implored to embrace family planning and return to schools and technical institutions to exploit their potential.
County Woman Representative Dorice Donya noted that mothers can leave the planning if they want to have more children, stressing that stiff penalties should be imposed on defilers who impregnate the girls and abandon them.
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She noted it was easier for the mothers to conceive again and burden their parents, and implored the parents to help the teenage mothers embrace family planning to curb it.
Addressing more than 300 teenage mothers aged between 13 and 15 at her office during a sensitisation meeting, the lawmaker petitioned parents and guardians not to negotiate with defilers to settle the matter out of court, saying it perpetuates the vice.
“Defilers should be arrested and, if found guilty, jailed for long to deter others. I urge stakeholders to concert effort, fight, and end the vice,” Donya pointed out.
She appealed to parents and guardians not to send children to buy items from shops in the evenings, noting they risked being defiled, conceiving, or being infected with diseases.
The MP noted the government is set to roll out a programme to support the mothers’ return to school and technical training next year to acquire knowledge and skills, respectively, to boost their lives.
The government, noted the legislator, is registering mothers with the Social Health Authority (SHA) to access health care services free to enhance their health.
“The government will also support the mothers to register and join the technical institutions they want in January next year,” she said and urged the mothers to identify them and the courses they want to do, Donya stressed.
The lawmaker stated she has tabled a Sexual Offences Bill and is awaiting a second reading, noting it will mandate schools to sensitise children on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), fighting defilement, and the rights of children.
The Ministry of Education, the MP said, will be empowered to create public awareness on teenage pregnancies and defilement.
