The government of Tanzania has carried out its threat of preventing pregnant schoolgirls from attending public schools by arresting five pregnant teenagers and their parents.
The arrests were carried out over the weekend according to local media The Citizen news site which reported that the teenagers were arrested in Tandahimba, northern Tanzania.
The arrests were ordered by a local district commissioner and the girls and their parents were later released on bail.
Child rights activists have wondered why the authorities have not arrested the men who impregnated the girls rather than the victims.
Local media has reported that local authorities have launched a search for the men who impregnated the girls.
Tanzanian President John Magufuli last year rejected activists’ calls for the government to allow pregnant students to attend state schools, saying it was immoral for young girls to be sexually active.
Tanzania’s ban on pregnant girls attending state primary and secondary schools dates back to 1961, when the country secured its independence from Britain, though it does not extend to private schools.
READ MORE: Pregnant Girls Won’t Attend State Schools – Tanzania’s Magufuli Reaffirms
“In my administration, as long as I am president … no pregnant student will be allowed to return to school. We cannot allow this immoral behaviour to permeate our primary and secondary schools … never,” Magufuli said on the issue.
Source: Africafeeds.com
