Kenya Women Parliamentary Association (Kewopa) members have come together to support the girl child through social setbacks such as early unplanned pregnancies.
A large number of teenage girls have fallen pregnant with no support from the fathers of their babies. According to statistics, this number has increased rapidly during the pandemic period with children not attending school.
Kewopa members recently met with the Education Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha to discusss a possible way to help young girls from being single mothers.
Apart from teenage pregnancy, sexual violence and defilement were also topics under discussion. Earlier during the year, Murang’a Woman Representative ,Sabina Chege, announced measures to curb teenage pregnancies in the country hoping that they would be implemented.
The campaign aims to educate young girls on abstinence and safe sex. In an effort to change the lives of the young Kenyan girls and help flatten the unwanted pregnancy curve.
Kewopa is seeking partners to establish a rescue centre for expectant girls forced into early marriages. Engagements with Fida-Kenya to assist cases without legal representation are currently underway.
“Cases of teenage pregnancy have risen sharply since mid-March when the government ordered all schools to be shut to contain the spread of coronavirus. Notably, the teenage pregnancy menace in the country has not started with the Covid-19 pandemic,” concluded Magoha while discussing about the issue.
