Sierra Leonean govt under sharp criticism for segregation policy on pregnant girls
The Sierra Leonean government has come under sharp criticism from a rights group over its programme to put pregnant teenage girls in separate classes from those of their peers.
The move to deny pregnant girls mainstream education has been described by Amnesty International as a violation of their human rights, Aljazeera.com reports.
“I am the one who should decide whether to go to the alternative or the mainstream school,” a 17-year-old girl was quoted as saying.
Thousands of schoolgirls in the country in 2015 were forced to undergo humiliating and degrading public pregnancy tests since the government banned pregnant girls from attending mainstream schools and taking exams, a report indicates.
According to the rights group, teenage girls at the time had their breasts and stomachs felt by teachers and nurses in front of their peers and were forced to take urine tests, which has discouraged many girls from going to school, whether they are pregnant or not.
The ban on pregnant girls attending school had informally existed for a decade, but it was declared a government policy in April 2015, when schools reopened in the wake of the Ebola outbreak.
According to Amnesty International, about 10 000 girls were affected by the ban on visibly pregnant girls attending school and sitting for exams.
A study in 2016 by the Secure Livelihoods Consortium stated that UNFPA surveys indicate 18 119 teenage girls became pregnant during the Ebola outbreak.
Even before Ebola broke out in late 2013, Sierra Leone had one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in the world, with 28% of girls aged 15-19 years pregnant or having already given birth at least once.
