Some 4 959 teenagers were impregnated in January and February this year, according to a government report.
“During lockdown, learners spent more time at home, which
left most men converting the community to a hunting ground,” said Minister of
Women’s Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Dr
Sithembiso Nyoni.
“What is worrying is that most of the perpetrators are
never brought before the law and that these teenagers are abandoning school yet
Government allows for them to go back.”
A source from Dalny Mine Secondary School in Kadoma told
The Sunday Mail Society that at least 28 girls did not return for class when
schools reopened last month.
At Seke 6 Secondary School in Chitungwiza, six girls
dropped out this year. Two of them have since indicated their willingness to
return to class, provided they get the necessary support.
At Kalungwizi Secondary School in Binga, at least 12 girls
absconded.
One of the school drop-outs, Shelly Maronda (not her real
name), is four months pregnant. She was impregnated by a cattle herder who is
13 years older than her.
Maronda is supposed to be writing her final Ordinary Level
examinations this year at Damba Secondary School in Hwedza.
“This was a mistake, I knew he is married and it was not
meant to be anything serious. I still want to be in school but I have become a
laughing stock. My friends have abandoned me, I am insecure and fear I will not
cope in class.”
For Tanyaradzwa, a Bindura-based 17-year-old, the case is
totally different. Her parents forced
her to elope.
“We lived in a compound and they could not stomach the
embarrassment of having a pregnant child under their roof so they chased me
away from home. “I now live with my 19-year-old husband and in-laws. School is
no longer an option. I was not ready for all this but I am left with no
choice.”
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