The call was made by fellow women from across the country who said that without proper addressing of premature and unwanted pregnancies, the women folk will have big percentages bogged in reproductive health problems and trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty.
IGIHE talked to a number of female voters who gave an insight of what their expectations from female members of Parliament are, where most gave an intersection of ideas on pragmatically addressing premature pregnancies.
Marine Nsengiyumva a resident of Kimonyi sector, Musanze District said that mobilization from the villages is very important as it guarantees proper permeation of messages to the desired populations.
“We want them to come to grassroots level and see for themselves if really gender balance is applied. Moreover, we wish that women, who will be elected, do their best to eradicate the issue of young girls who leave school due to unplanned pregnancies,” she commissioned.
Uwimana from Rushashi sector, Gakenke District, said MPs needed to legislate tougher punitive sanctions against men who cause teenage pregnancies as part of the paths towards curbing the challenge.
Mukabano Agnes, who wishes to represent women in the Southern province, admitted that unwanted pregnancies were hindering teenage girls from realizing their full potentials. She pledged to focus on the issue when elected.
“There are a big number of children who drop out of school because of this problem, and it is hindering their lives, education and the country’s development in general,” Mukamabano said as she pledged to sensitize and fight the problem when elected.
According to statistics published by Ministry of Gender and Family Planning in 2016, a total of 17,500 teenagers left school due to unwanted pregnancies. Gasabo District had the highest pregnancy rate (1,157) in 2016 and 1,274 in 2017.
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