12 Year-Old Girl Defying a 15 Km Journey in Pursuit of Education

12 year-old Mary Imran

Not many girls from  Mangochi district reach  standard 8 of their primary education and  this is attributed  the case due to a number of factors like child marriages, teen age pregnancies and lack of enthusiasm due to lack of role models. Further to this, young people from Mponda village in the area of Traditional Authority (T/A) Katuli have an additional causative obstacle which is a. long distance to and from school.   

Most young people get tired of the 15 km distance a few days after enrolling and they decide to drop out first and enroll again when they are old enough to manage the distance. However, most of the boys and girls return to school after getting older but they eventually drop out again after a few weeks as well. This time around, the reason for dropping out of school revolves around the issue of age. By the time the dropouts feel they are old enough to walk 30 kilometers to and from school for 5 days in a week, they get into a class that is full of learners who are two times younger than them. Coping up becomes difficult and they eventually dropout as they feel too old for standard 1. 

However, 12- year old Mary Imran who is a standard 3 learner at Kwisimba Primary School has a slightly similar story to tell but her story comes with a different twist at the end.  

In 2009, when she was exactly six years old, Mary enrolled at Kwisimba Primary School which is 15 km away from her village. She enrolled together with her two age-mates from her village as well.

After only a week, the three young girls realised that they were up against an insurmountable task. This is when they all realised why other older girls just stay at home despite having knowledge on the importance of education. 

Mary remembers the general body weakness and fatigue that made her feel paralytic on Saturday after walking for 30 km every day for 5 days. Her friends also complained similar ailments. The inevitable was about to happen and just like many others before them; they dropped out of primary school without much ado. The agreement was that they will go back to school after reaching 12 years of age as their muscles and bones will be stronger and harder. 

Upon reaching the age of 10 in 2013, Mary was old enough to join a group of adolescent girls which she had always been wishing to join since the group was established but age was the only limiting factor. 

After the then 10-year old Mary joined Mponda Adolescent Girls Club whose establishment was facilitated by UN-JPAG (United Nations Joint Programme on Adolescent Girls), Mary has been learning a lot and the group’s activities met her expectations. 

One day, during one of their usual sessions, all the group members were encouraged to go to school. Mary remembers the lengthy discussion which the group had on the importance of education.

After that particular session, she went straight to her two friends and pleaded

with them to return to school but the two still felt too young to go to school again unless they add another two years.

Determined and unwavering, Mary enrolled in standard 1 of her primary school studies again in 2013 at the age of 10 and not 6 as is the right age in Malawi. In her class, there were younger learners than her. She stated that many of them were only six years old. However, to her, the difference of 4 years is negligible unlike 12 to 6 years.      

 

She recommenced her studies and took them seriously so much that she is now in standard 3 and in the last academic term, Mary scooped position number 2 in a class of over 15 learners. She is very confident that her dream of becoming a secondary school teacher will one day come true. 

“I always get along well with my fellow learners and the age difference is not that huge unlike if I had started school when I was 12,” said Mary. 

She stated that the activities of Mponda Adolescent Girls Club have tremendously changed her life and she boasts of being equipped with relevant and age appropriate information about sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Young People; Let’s Stay Away from Drug and Substance Abuse

Young people are exposed to a number of hard drugs and substances which they use to feel what they call ‘high’. Sadly, these drugs and substances are habit-forming and the addiction has several related negative consequences which include; academic difficulties, Poor peer relationships, increase in crime rate, family conflicts, the community and health related problems.

In education, the use of drugs lead to general decline of academic performance among young users and increases school dropouts among other things.

In terms of health, drug users risk physical as well as mental health disorders and this sometimes leads to death and a loss to the society.

Hard drugs lead to the spread of HIV as well as STIs and this is one aspect which most users do not know. When one is under the influence of drugs, he or she is likely to engage in casual and unprotected sex. Thus, unplanned pregnancies and contraction of HIV as well as STIs are among SRH issues that are connected to the use and abuse of drugs and substances.

Young people should do all they can to stay away from drugs. Further to this, it is everybody’s responsibility to ensure that young people are keeping their distances from drugs and negative peer pressure should be discouraged. Counselling among those who are addicted to drugs should not be ignored – Young people who are addicted to drugs should be referred to institutions that offer counselling and rehabilitation.

Together We Can Change The Youth!!!

The Youth are Suffering Amidst Plenty in Malawi- Know where you can Access SRH Services

The government of the republic of Malawi and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are trying their best to make sexual reproductive health services accessible to young people.

The government, through its public health centres, has established   Youth Health Friendly Service Centres where SRH services are provided to young people for free.

Youth Net and Counselling (YONECO) also provides counselling as well as SRH information and other related services for free through the Tithandizane National Helpline. Through this initiative, young people can get SRH information and counselling services using the toll free Tithandizane Helpline number - 8000 1234.

Furthermore, the organization also has Youth Drop In Centers where young people access condoms and SRH information.  The youth who are in Ntcheu and Rumphi districts have all the reasons to smile because YONECO, with support from UNICEF, established model Drop In Centres where the youth have an option of getting information from the internet.  All this – free of charge!

Further to this, apart from the government and YONECO’s SRH services, other NGOs and institutions also provide these services to young people. The services are there right in your community; it is simply an issue of knowing where to find them within your locality.

 There are so many places where you, as a young person, can get free SRH services and information.  It is heartrending to note that young people in Malawi are ‘dying of thirst while their legs are dipped in plenty of water’.  

Misplaced Solution: Committing Suicide Because of One's HIV Status

When dealing with problems, we really need to address them in a manner that will ensure that they will not resurface to bother us again.  This world is a busy place to revisit and rethink of one challenge time and again and the only way of dealing with this, is to employ everlasting solutions. 

However, every general rule has an exception and that is that. For instance, if we say vehicles should not exceed 180 Kilometers per hour. Ambulances are vehicles as well but they are sometimes an exceptional case and there is no any logical argument that can be put forward to refute this fact. 

This entire clamour is coming into my head and finding its way in this entry after what a certain promising boy (18) did to his innocent young life two weeks ago.    

This is a young boy I have known for years and it is sad that his demise was caused by no other thing but his own hands and a rope. He applied a permanent solution to a condition that simply required acceptance of the diagnosis and move on with life. 

The account of this sad tale started when, just like all wise young people, the boy went for HIV Testing and Counselling (HTC). The most important thing, we all have to do in the process of planning ahead for the future. 

According to a missive that was found in one of his black shirt pockets which he wore on this fateful day, he got back from an HTC Centre where he was found HIV Positive. He stated, in his suicide note, that he no longer saw any reason to live as he was ‘doomed’ to die of AIDS.

 Thus, after writing this note, he took a rope and hanged himself in a nearby woodlot where, according to the police, he was found about 30 hours later. 

Reflecting on what happened to this young acquaintance of mine has been one of my preoccupations since I heard about the young life which the society lost in such a manner.

 Did this boy thought that every human being is immortal unless he or she has AIDS?  If not, then why did he say I am hanging myself because I will die of AIDS? Who knows, he could have died of other causes other than an illness. People die every day because of so many causes other than illnesses of any sort. 

A simple fact which most young people fail to understand is that, AIDS is not synonymous with death. This misconception is what also prevents most young people to shun HTC. What the people forget is that knowing your HIV status has so many advantages while the other option is so dreadful.

Why would someone take away his own life because she or he has HIV? We have Anti-retro viral (ARV) drugs which maximally suppress the HIV virus and stop the progression of HIV. Many people are living happily despite the fact that they are HIV positive because having HIV does not mean you have a poor health or you are dying. 

Dying is losing your life for real and it is so sad that we only live once…Having HIV does not equal death and HIV testing enables you to know your status and plan well as a young person. Life is wonderful, no matter what but committing suicide because you have HIV is inconceivable.

 Go for HTC today, know your status and face the future with confidence!

PROMOTING SRH AND FAMILY PLANNING INFORMATION & SERVICES AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE

Malawi should address the issue of unwanted pregnancies among young girls who are dropping out of school because of pregnancy. Heartrendingly, most of them do not go back to school after delivery as they dedicate their time to raising their babies and most are held back by the fear of how their schoolmates and teachers will treat them.  The issue of teenage pregnancies in Malawi has also led to unsafe abortions among the youth. 

As a way of putting an end to this, young people should be practically accorded their right to sexual reproductive health and family planning services. Furthermore, the policies that are aimed at promoting young people’s sexual and reproductive health should be operationalized without much ado because the issue at hand requires immediate action.

Investing in young people’s sexual reproductive health will greatly empower them so much that the youth will remain healthy, attain their education and realize their goals in life.
Young people have the right to make informed choices about their sexual and reproductive health, including the number, timing, and spacing of their children and the right to the highest attainable standard of health.

All young people, regardless of sex or marital status should have access to sexual and reproductive health services, which includes access to safe, effective, affordable, and youth friendly health services of their choice.

There is also a need to facilitate the process of encouraging peer education which also helps young people to obtain clear information about sensitive issues pertaining to sexual behavior, reproductive health, STIs including HIV and AIDS. Provision of youth friendly health services in tertiary education institutions and workplaces and other places where young people congregate is also viable and cost effective 

The youth in Malawi need to increase their knowledge base on current and relevant information about sexual reproductive health.

Of late, behavior change campaigns for young people have also been neglected and the consequence of this has been strongly felt in all parts of the country and that is in both rural and urban settings.

The government and non-governmental organizations need to maintain and develop effective monitoring systems of such initiatives to inform programing and improve service delivery.

On the other hand, when all is said and done, my fellow young people should also know that the onus is in their hands. No matter what the government and NGOs will do, the youth themselves are key to this. A lot of money, time and resources have already been spent on the promotion of young people’s sexual and reproductive health and  rights but the youth themselves are also to blame for not being active.

Cry Section 22; Subsection (7) of My Beloved Republican Constitution: As a Fierce Battle Against Child Marriages Continue

My last month’s encounter with some young girls from Katuli in Mangochi district was an enlightening experience and it gave me an opportunity to understand how young girls themselves perceive the issue of child marriages.

One thing we all agreed on is the gravity of the malpractice itself and together, the girls explored some of the consequences that accompany the tendency.

I found myself feeling a bit jumpy the moment I realised that each one of my newly found acquaintances was either a survivor of a child marriage or one of her  closest pals found herself suffering in the pangs of a child marriage. “We really have a big problem in our midst”, I muttered almost to myself and I should confess, for some moments I was lost in my own thoughts due to the realisation.

Nevertheless, my friends continued with the discussion and one of them stated that girls sometimes make dangerous choices mainly due to immaturity. It was mentioned that young girls easily get enticed with insignificant things which older men use to lure them into loveless marriages.

On the other hand, many others are forced by guardians or parents and sadly, the young girls who are married off in this way are usually below the age of 15 years of age. This is usually the age range which rich village men prefer and I was told by my friends that the men do not care whether 15 years is usually the age of the men’s lastborn child or not. The idea behind is simply to earn a living as the money from the little married girls is expected to trickle down from her family to them (the parents or guardians).   

One of my friends in the circle disclosed that she once dropped out of school when she was 15 and in standard 7 of her primary school studies. Her encounter really proved my and probably everyone’s suspicion or well researched opinions that lust is a main driving force towards older men’s tendency to marry little girls.

Just like everyone else in his or her right senses, I wondered how an old person, who has children himself, would want to get sexual gratification from a young girl and get a sense of accomplishment from such a distasteful act with a minor as little as 15. The enigma causes some headaches when you try to think of an older man being happy to be called a husband of a certain minor younger than some if not all of his children. In certain instances, the wife is even younger than the grandchildren of her husband.

One girl stated boldly that our moral fabric has been torn apart and she was of the view that this has nothing to do with tradition and she expressed her optimism that the tendency has just become more prevalent in the recent past. She further added that if it were an issue of culture, it could not have been prevailing and thriving in our society where other harmful cultural practices are slowly but surely giving in to reason and modernity.

The discussions went on and on as the sky started gathering some rain clouds; it was time to wind up our discussions. The girls said a lot and they assured me that the problems which young girls face in their married life with older men are just too much and the need to put a stop to the malpractice is a welcome idea.

Two of the girls whispered into each other’s ear then all of a sudden, just for a few seconds, their faces brightened with what to me appeared like a direct result of contemplating something great and positive. My inherent inquisitiveness forced me to ask them the source of their sudden concealed happiness. 

One of the two said that they just realised that the newly instituted Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Act will help a lot in the fight against child marriages in Malawi and I agreed.

However, I had a misgiving on this as I quickly remembered some nudging doubts which some law experts have. According to my understanding, their doubt that the Act may not do much in the fight against child marriages is founded.

The doubts are emanating from the fact that the constitution, which is the supreme law of our land, still has a clause which stipulates that girls between the age range of 15 and 18 can marry so long as there is a parental consent. Now, a recent Afrobarometer survey has shown that parents are the ones who perpetrate child marriages.

Furthermore, the experience I have after being in Malawi for so many years, from the time I was born to now, informs me that parents marry off their daughters because of several reasons and among the prominent ones are; to get financial assistance from their son-in-law (as earlier mentioned in this entry), to get lobola (bride price), and to relieve themselves from the task of providing for their daughter’s needs. This clearly shows that the law should not entrust such people (parents) with the task of deciding whether a young girl above the age of 15 can marry or not – they are an interested party that stands to benefit from the marriage of their daughter and therefore incapable of making an objective decision on the matter.

I explained to the girls what some law gurus in Malawi are saying on the Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Act of 2015. I clearly told the group of young girls that subsection (7) of section 22 of the supreme law in Malawi, somehow lenders the Act powerless.  

After a few seconds of silence, the girls fathomed the idea and they quickly pointed out that investing on girl child empowerment is a getaway to child marriages in Malawi.

 As a few rain drops started osculating the earth’s atmosphere, my friends underlined that empowering young girls is very key. They told me that enough information can enable them to stand up for their rights, to insist on exercising their right to education and once the girls are able to clearly explain the dangers of child marriages, no other force can compel them to marry at a tender age.

The girls returned to the issue of the constitution and their hope-carrier - the Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Act. The group stated that Section 22 subsection (7) of the Constitution should be amended forthwith so as to enable the Act to bite offenders.

The shiest one of all the girls, (I later learnt that Faida was her name) added that young girls who also naively marry older men who entice them with presents and promises should be targeted with special messages as well. She finished her remarks by saying that since other young girls sign matrimonial vows because of poverty…economic empowerment to vulnerable girls should also be considered as a very powerful weapon in the fight against child marriages.

As a heavy downpour started falling from the dark sky, we bade farewell to each other and as I was left alone on our meeting place, I said “cry subsection (7) of section 22 of my beloved republican Constitution’.  

 

 

       

 

Does Poverty Fuel Sex Work Activities?

           

I believe that the debate on whether poverty is the key driver to sex work or not is as old as the profession itself.  So many theories, counter -theories, arguments and counterarguments have been put forward on this issue by many scholars, social commentators and many other distinguished people in the society including you and me. 

  

Adolescent girls are reportedly the ones who form the majority of sex workers not only in Malawi but in many other countries as well. It is said that this is a kind of work they do to earn an income in order to afford; fashionable clothes, descent meals and pay utility bills.

However, sex work is not a panacea for poverty hence this entry is an attempt to exhume the negative side effects of doing sex work but not, in any way, stigmatizing those who are involved in sex work activities.  

Men calculatingly exploit young girls who are in dire need of support and they always take advantage of vulnerable children like orphaned girls. Once such vulnerable young girls are offered some money after the ordeal of sleeping with such heartless men, it is like a ‘Pandora Box’ has been opened.  They simply fail to fathom the idea of ever sleeping on an empty stomach again; they feel that the time of taking a bath without soap and then get dressed in rugged clothes is over- to them it is a time to say bye to poverty.

As such, this entry only underscores the fact that education is a key to poverty eradication. The development of our country is, to a certain extent, retrogressing.  What we need are educated young men and women to work in our factories, brilliant economists to turn around the tables, business administrators to change the status quo and what have you. The last thing Malawi needs, in her poverty eradication efforts, are high school dropout rates.

What follows when a young girl starts earning income by sleeping around with men? Your response is as good as mine; she may get STIs including HIV or an early pregnancy (with all or some of its attendant problems). She may also get both STIs and an early pregnancy. All these scenarios are very expensive than going to school. For instance, once she is impregnated by an unknown heartless man, she will only be left with another mouth to feed and another body to dress.

In consideration of the above points, escaping poverty should not entail dropping out of school in order to start sleeping around with men to earn a living. Whether sex workers are victims of Poverty or not…young girls should know that sex work is not a solution to their poverty but something that fuels the poverty.

Allow me to echo what Maganizo’s father once said in one of Malawian literature books; Education is like a root from a good medicine man, it never fails!