A member of parliament in
Swaziland / eSwatini Michael Masuku called for teenagers who become pregnant to
be arrested so they can be corrected and learn from their mistakes.
The Deputy Prime Minister
Themba Masuku said that it was crucial to evaluate if the teenagers fell
pregnant willingly or were abused, before considering enacting a law that would
criminalise teenage pregnancy.
The submission was made at
a workshop of members of parliament.
The Times of
Swaziland reported Michael Masuku
said, ‘Teenage pregnancy should be a punishable offence to reduce its escalating
rate in the country.’
It added, ‘Masuku suggested
that there should be a law that stipulates an age when girls who are found
pregnant should be arrested for a year so that they may be corrected and learn
from their mistakes.
‘The MP said teenage
pregnancy should be made a punishable offence, just like offences under the
Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence (SODV) Act.’
The newspaper added, ‘In
this way, the MP stated that minor girls would refrain from having early sexual
intercourse, which ultimately led to pregnancies and school dropouts.’
The Times reported,
‘Responding, DPM Themba Masuku highlighted that it was crucial to evaluate if
the teenagers fell pregnant willingly or were abused, before considering
enacting a law that would criminalise teenage pregnancy.’
In Swaziland, the law
states that the age of consent for sexual intercourse is 18. The SODV that came
into effect in 2018 makes it a crime to have sex with someone under that age.
It states that a person under 18 is ‘incapable in law of appreciating the
nature of the sexual act’.
Therefore, in law, the
criminal in such cases is the man and not the woman.
Teenage pregnancy in Swaziland has
been a concern for many years. The Ministry of Sports,
Culture, and Youth Affairs in the Swaziland
State of the Youth Report 2015,
stated that in 2007, teenage pregnancy was at 24 percent and over
the years it has not shown much decline despite attempts at education and
other interventions.
The report stated, ‘Pregnancy among
girls less than 18 years of age has a number of negative consequences. It
violates the rights of girls and can pose life-threatening consequences.’
It added, ‘Early pregnancy can have
lasting negative effects in terms of sexual and reproductive health for young
women and it poses high development costs for communities, particularly in
perpetuating the cycle of poverty.’
In 2014, 16.7 percent of women
between 20-24 had at least one live birth before 18 years of age.’
Young people in Swaziland begin
engaging in sexual activity at an early age. The average age at first
intercourse in Swaziland is 16 years for girls and 18 years for boys. Delaying
first sexual intercourse is strongly linked with more years of education in
young women, and a reduced risk to HIV exposure and early pregnancy.
The MPs workshop was told
that 1,046 girls had dropped out of school due to teenage pregnancy. The DPM’s
Office presently has a campaign to reduce pre-teen, teenage and post-teenage
pregnancies by 50 per cent by 2023.
See also
School
criticised for pregnancy tests
Schoolgirls
‘give sex for food’
Death
of Swaziland schoolgirl after illegal abortion highlights suffering of women in
kingdom
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