#Mamarasakit: The shocking realities of teenage girls’ pregnancies in South Sudan
Betty Yom Mageer
By Betty Yom Mageer, Nairobi, Kenya
Sunday, November 15, 2020 (PW) — As the world and South Sudan is obsessing with the deadliest virus in the history of humankind. Another social crisis is burgeoning in silence in South Sudan and worldwide. The teenage girls’ pregnancies pandemic is on the rise in South Sudan and globally. They’re busy impregnating them in quietness and disregard the rule of social distancing. It’s a crisis in silent progress. Ooh my God! Many countries around the globe are busy and struggling with the preventive measures of suppressing the spread of Covid-19 virus. Moreover, many nations in Africa, Western world, Middle East and Asia are overwhelmed by the coronavirus pandemic.
They’re trying hardest to come up with an effective and efficient measures of curbing the spread of the deadly Covid-19. Other countries around the world are going through lockdowns while others have lost thousands of precious souls. Health workers and scientists are speeding sleepless nights daily. Health professionals are trying their very best to save human lives and treat many sick patients in various medical facilities around the world. Furthermore, some healthcare workforce has been infected by the deadly virus while treating Covid-19 patients.
Others have succumbed to the deadly virus and lost their precious lives. Moreover, scientists around the world are doing their best and they’re work tirelessly day and night to find a vaccine for the deadly Covid-19 virus that has claimed so far more than 1.2 million lives on earth. It has also infected more than fifty million people globally as per the daily report of the world health organization(WHO). Additionally, almost everybody is totally obsessed and worry by the deadly virus around the world. But there’re some indescribable people around the world and in South Sudan in particular who seem to be focusing on a different thing completely.
These people instead of being concern with the deadly virus that has engulf the whole planet. They’ve instead decided to impregnated underage girls in South Sudan and earthwide. They’ve instead become preoccupied with impregnating the teenage girls in South Sudan. They’re not even bother about the deadly virus. They don’t care and respect social distancing which is one of the preventive measures against the virus. They only care about their selfish interests that even put their lives and those of others at risk of coronavirus pandemic in South Sudan and globally.
Furthermore, they’re very busy impregnating the underage girls in South Sudan as I speak. They’ve taken unfair advantage ofunderage school girls that’re at homes during this time when most of the schools are closed because of the coronavirus pandemic. They’re busy impregnating girls’ teenagers imagine and hence spoiling their education and bright futures in South Sudan. In addition to that, there’re various reports about the alarming rate of teen pregnancies during the last several months in South Sudan. There’re wide reports of teenage girls’pregnancies particularly in Equatoria region.
There’re reports that underage girls who’re at homes are getting impregnated by the people who’ve taken advantage of them due to coronavirus pandemic. For instance, in Eastern Equatoria, there’re reported cases of teenage girls’ pregnancies. The state government’s officials have documented 125 teenage pregnancies in July, and another 230 in September this year. A total figure of 355 teenage girls’ pregnancies across the eight counties of Eastern Equatoria. The data of July was as followed: 27 teenage pregnancies in Lopa/Lafon, 26 in Magwi, 49 in Torit, 11 in Ikotos and 12 in greater Kapoeta.
Moreover, according to the report presented by the Support Peace Development Initiative Organization (SPIDO) in the city of Juba in August, it indicated that more than 1,500 teenage school girls have been impregnated or married off in South Sudan since the lockdown of Coronavirus pandemic. The report also portrayed that most of the alarming rates of teenage girls’ pregnancies, early child marriages and prostitution were recorded mostly from Central, Eastern and Western Equatoria states.
Furthermore, there’re no many cases reported in Upper Nile and Barl El Ghazal regions by either the media, government agencies and humanitarian organizations. But it doesn’t mean that there’re no many cases in those regions. What is happening in Upper Nile and Barl El Ghazal regions in regard to teenage girls’ pregnancies may be shocking if proper research is done to find out the realities on the ground. It’s only God who know what is going on in those two regions. It’s solely Jehovah who know what’s happening in that quietness. There must be something going on in that serenity and tranquility of those regions.
Finally, the government, humanitarian agencies, youth, women, parents and faith groups need to carry out serious awareness and communities’ sensitization about the dangers of teenage girls’ pregnancies in South Sudan. The government need to warn those impregnating teenage girls that it is a crime and punishable in the court of law. We need to protect our young girls fromprofitless, fruitless and premature pregnancies in order to enablethem continued with their studies and to have a bright future in South Sudan.
The author is a women’s rights activist and can be reach via her Email: bettyyom2009@gmil.com
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