My seventeen years old mischievous baby sister was pulling one of her stunts to trick us into letting her bring a bomber jacket to school. It is illegal, I need not mention that and that’s what prompted me to ask her why.
“This form two girl stole my sweater to hide her bulging tummy. She was suspended and now I have to deal with the cold till she gets back if at all she ever will,”
she replied. Of course, she had other mean things to say but I noted some thought-provoking comments.
First off, the very religious institution expels girls who get pregnant and opt to have an abortion because it’s against the church doctrine. Any girl who gets pregnant must have the child, failure to which she will be expelled. This condition is a form of punishment to these girls for indulging in sex regardless of the mental torture, shame, and medical risks they might go through. It goes without saying that girls who have abortions are shamed publicly, I leave to your imagination the names they are called.
You can tell from my sister’s sentiments that these girls are labeled ‘the bad examples’. If a teacher wants to give a bad example, students can mention a colleague’s name in chorus and it’s totally fine; which by the way is very humiliating. It’s disheartening for most girls whose families are most likely to stop funding their education, forced to marry young, and worse off, chased away. No one imagines the emotional rollercoaster these girls are put through by simply how institutions handle these situations. It’s very vital that this derogatory system of handling teenage pregnancies is reviewed and changed. Here is how.
Case in example; In a year, the school registers a minimum of fifteen pregnancies and the numbers could go higher. If the government could review the details of comprehensive sexuality education and allow conversations about reproductive rights, these numbers could go down quite fast. Why? It’s quite evident that most teenagers are sexually active and abstinence is not in the cards for most. Besides the ‘abstain gospel’ they could have conversations on contraception and debunk myths and ill-informed perceptions of abortions. Schools are great avenues to teach young people about their sexual reproductive rights the mere fact that they are learning institutions.
I strongly believe that spirituality can be enhanced in institutions without being religious. Religion is one of the tools pushing retrogressive norms, cultures, and principles but we are too religious to admit it. It's essential that while we bring in religious doctrines to play, we look at the rising numbers of teenage pregnancies and the impact of these religious approaches. Schools can still be spiritual without subscribing to religious doctrines. I tried to change my sister’s viewpoint, but she adamantly stated that “It’s wayward for teenage girls to have sex.” Just girls, because of the repercussions attached to it. I hope to have this conversation with her when she’s sexually active. I’d like to know if she’ll still have the same sentiments. Well not unless she decides to be celibate, no?