On average, 30 girls fall pregnant and drop out of school in Ngamiland every month.
This depressing reality was revealed by the District Health Management Team (DHMT) in Chanoga on Tuesday, when the community gathered to commemorate ‘16 days of activism against Gender Based Violence (GBV)’.
According to DHMT representative, Bagogi Chibona, since the start of 2020 up until July this year, 909 girls, aged between 11 and 19, had left schools in the district due to pregnancy.
“What is worrisome is that most of the pregnancies are caused by older men,” said Chibona, adding the youngest pregnancy involved an 11-year-old primary school pupil and was recorded last year.
He further noted ‘909’ only reflected the known pregnancies – the actual number could potentially be much higher as some cases are kept hidden and not reported.
Meanwhile, Botswana Police Service, through its Gender and Child protection unit, noted that young girls aged around 15, especially Form 3 dropouts, were often used for illicit sexual favours by older men – in some cases with their parents consent.
“Many girls in this village have failed Form 3, but are cohabiting with boys and men and the elders are watching and condoning such illegal activities. Some have been married off and made to stay with husbands in cattleposts,” highlighted the head of the police unit in Maun, Segopolo Lefatshe.
Other common sexual offences perpetrated in and around the Maun area include: rape, incest, defilement of mentally challenged children and indecent assaults.
“Incest is for example when a father has sex with his daughter, or siblings having sex. Those things are happening and last year we recorded two such cases and four of them this year,” revealed Lefatshe grimly.
According to the police, the list of violations perpetrated by parents against their children in the area is long and worrying.
The list includes: leaving underage children to look after their siblings, leaving younger children with very old people who cannot bath, cook or wash their clothes, taking videos and pictures of naked children and sharing them on social media, going to drinking spots with minor children, selling or misusing governments aid of food meant for orphans, failing to take care of children with disability, making children sell drugs or handle dangerous equipment such as guns.
“You have married off minor children so before we come knocking at your house, do the rightful thing and go and bring back those girls. If it requires divorces make sure you process that on their behalf because you are the ones who married them off,” cautioned constable Tebogo Thuso, who warned that very soon she will be making follow-ups of child rights violations in the area as a matter of priority.
“Action will be taken against elders involved,” Thuso promised.
“Some mothers would go and spend weeks in Samedupi having left young girls to take care of their younger siblings. When there is nothing to eat at home the girls get desperate and start sleeping with men in exchange of money and food. Stop doing this; it is wrong and is destroying the future of our children,” she added.
PREGNANT NGAMILAND DROPOUTS
2020 : 426
2021 : 274
Jan-July 2022 : 209
