Teenage pregnancy on the increase in a South African secondary school as boys compete to father babies

                                 

When kids are not aware of the responsibilities attached to bringing up children, you have this kind of thing happening. Having babies in secondary school is a status symbol. A way to feel 'cool'. Who do we blame for this? The society, the school or parental failure?

About 30 girls at a secondary school in South Africa are pregnant.

Why?  Because, according to the kids, competition among boys at this school is said to be the ­reason for the high number of pregnant girls!

When Daily Sun visited the school recently, they saw about 10 pregnant girls. Apparently others were on maternity leave.

The People’s Paper spoke to pupils who said boys at the school thought having a baby made them cool.

They said the competition was serious because some of the boys laughed at those who didn’t have children.

One boy, who has a four-month-old baby, said the competition started getting intense last year.

“If you want to be cool and respected you must have a child,” he said.

One pregnant girl said a fellow pupil was the father of her unborn child but she wouldn’t comment on the competition.

A parent, Nozizwe Zondi, 46, said she was aware of the competition.

“We need to join forces with teachers and the department to deal with it,” she said.

KZN Education spokesman Muzi Mahlambi said girls should not be in sexual relationships while they are still at school.

“That’s the only thing to beat the high rate of pregnancy,” he said.

He said the department had spoken to some of the teachers at the school and agreed that they would advise pupils not to date before they had finished school.


Source: Laila's Blog

Landlady wanted by the Police for setting tenant's apartment on fire

                         

Lagos police has declared Mrs Nike Azeez wanted for setting her tenant’s apartment ablaze in order to eject him from the house. Mrs Azeez reportedly stunned residents of Ijegun community in the morning of Tuesday, April 12, after she poured some petrol in Adeleke Shakiru’s apartment and set it ablaze destroying the property inside the apartment. The police said they have arrested her husband Jamiu Azeez and detained him at Isheri Oshun division for his alleged involvement in the arson by his wife.

The police have also discovered ashes of burnt N250, 000 kept in the house by the victim Adeleke Shakiru. According to The Gazelle news, the victim said he slept outside with his family because he was still at loss on what to do. He said the money he kept in the house was burnt and he was not owing the landlord before the incident happened. He said he really needs the help of Nigerians to assist his family.

How rescued Chibok girls are stigmatized within their communities

                    

A 17-year-old girl simply identified as Zara who was abducted by Boko Haram terrorists and was freed by soldiers has confessed that she is still in love with her terrorist husband. In a reports by BBC, Zaha is not one of the famous abducted Chibok girls but is going through a traumatic period due to the ordeals she went through in the hands of her captors.

She said that when they were abducted they were given the chance to either be slaves or brides. “They gave us a choice – to be married, or to be a slave. I decided to marry,” she said. Zara said life was tough but freedom came when Nigerian soldiers bombarded Sambisa forest and rescued them. Mohamed Umaru who is Zara’s uncle said when she returned, she was already pregnant.

“The women in our family realized she was three months pregnant,” “In our family it happens that some of us are Christians and some are Muslims. She was a Christian before she was kidnapped but the Boko Haram who married her turned her into a Muslim.” The family was divided about what to do to with the pregnancy and after a vote, they agreed to keep it. “She said her husband’s father is called Usman, so that is how she named the child,”

 The 17-year-old mother said people started insulting her because her child was fathered by a Boko Haram terrorist. “People call me a Boko Haram wife and called me a criminal. They didn’t want me near. They didn’t like me.” “They didn’t like my child. When he fell sick nobody would look after him,” The nine month old child however was bitten by a snake one night while sleeping with Zara outside the house and died. “Some were happy that he died. They were happy the blood of Boko Haram had gone from the family.” Mohamed said some were glad the child had left which affected Zara. “They said thank God that the kid is dead, that God has answered their prayers.

                     

“Sometimes she says she wants to go to school and become a doctor and help society, but sometimes, when people insult her, she says she wants to go back to the Sambisa Forest. READ ALSO: Hillary Clinton writes BBOG group “She always talks about her husband who happens to be a Boko Haram commander. She says the guy is nice to her and that he wants to start a new life with her.” He says he fears she will kill herself one day. “She will, she will, she will definitely do that if she gets the chance,” he added. Zara says her longing for the forest where she was freed has increased because of the stigmatization from the community.

 “The feeling for the forest is strong now, but it will go away. I will forget the time with Boko Haram, but not yet.” Her uncle says stigmatizing the children abducted by Boko Haram will only create more problems worse than the one they went through. “People should understand that these children didn’t create this, but if we continue to stigmatize people with such trauma we might create something much, much bigger than Boko Haram in the future.

“You are creating a more dangerous thing than Boko Haram if you grow up not welcomed by society and with nobody wanting to help you. “My prayer is for the government to do something. They should come to their aid and reintegrate them and show them love.” In a video purportedly released by Boko Haram, it showed some as he girls alive raising hope that they could still be rescued. However, The Nigerian army raised doubt about the authenticity of the video but assured that it will not relent in its effort.


Source: Naij.com