As school reopens in Malawi, it has been a great concern that many girls are not returning to school because of early pregnancies and child marriages due to long COVID-19 holidays.
For instance, a standard eight student at Manja Primary School in Blantyre has fell victim to an early marriage situation due to the effects of early pregnancy. The 16-year-old girl is among many students in Malawi facing a similar challenge.
The young girl disclosed that she is willing to get back to school soon once her child grows, however, she said that tough circumstances has forced her to move in with her boyfriend who is currently working as a shop assistant in Blantyre city.
In trying to reverse such situations, the Malawi Girl Guide Association (MAGGA) has introduced several programs across the country with an aim of empowering young girls to get back to in their classes despite the fact that others have already found themselves in marriages.
In an interview with Xinhua, National Coordinator for MAGGA Mphatso Jimu stressed that efforts are being made to ensure that both the youth and the parents have relevant information that can help them to brighten their future successfully.
“Lately, we have observed reports in the local media that many girls have not returned to school, as of now, our team is on the ground doing several detailed research to find out better ways of reversing the challenge. Many young girls in our communities require special life skills because many of them lack such information, for this reason, we are also engaging the youth with such information in order for them to shun away from such practices,” she said.
Meanwhile, the ministry of education has disclosed that the ministry is doing a nationwide survey to track all teenage pregnancies and child marriages in regards to a recess caused by COVID-19 pandemic.
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