Do Teenage Mothers Deserve A Second Chance At Education?

31.5 percent of women between the ages 13–19 have had children or are currently pregnant in Nigeria as at 2015 — World Bank

World Bank data. Source: tradingeconomics.com

Olamide Raji 19, is a part of that staggering statistics. And, this, is her story.

Seven years ago, barely 12, she gained admission into secondary school with high hopes of passing with flying colors. She also had plans all mapped out to head on to nursing school, earn a degree as a registered nurse, and practice the profession she is so passionate about. She looked forward to being one of the best caregivers in town and someday raising a healthy, beautiful family.

She was the first of five children raised by indigent and estranged parents. In spite of the challenges at home, Olamide demonstrated great courage and hope for a better life. But her father had left home, and without him she lacked mentorship and guidance.

At 17, disaster struck.

Without a father-figure to fear and respect, she got involved in a relationship with a young man named Rotimi Aiyedun, and one year into that relationship, she got pregnant. As a result, she suffered rejection and ridicule, as is customary in this culture. She had to drop out of school. And her world literally came crashing down on her.

Her estranged parents expressed utter disappointment and refused to support her. Olamide had to move in with her lover. Rotimi, however, was a sickle-cell patient who, due to frequent ill-health and lack of adequate medical care, was unable to work enough to earn sufficient income to support her.

By the time she was due for delivery, Olamide had become a pale shadow of her vivacious self.

A worried Olamide in advanced pregnancy

When Olamide was due for delivery, there was no money for hospital bills. Yet, fate was not done dealing with her. She had her son via Cesarean section, a very expensive procedure in Nigeria. Her parents, reluctantly had to scrounge to pay the bills to save her life, despite her indiscretion.

Though not formally married to Rotimi, and less than three years after her first child, Olamide was soon pregnant again and had a baby girl.

Olamide, Rotimi and their two children

Due to Rotimi’s constant health crises, he is not able to retain any job. With both of them unemployed and their two children unable to go to school or eat well, the small family appears stuck in a life of intense poverty and uncertainty and the future looks bleak.

Sad as her story is, Olamide is not alone in this place of despair. Teenage pregnancy throw up a lot of frightening stats.

IN NUMBERS — Why teenage mothers need attention and care:

57– Of all teen pregnancies, only 57 out of 100 actually have a successful birth and delivery whereas 14 out of 100 experience a miscarriage.

19% — Percentage of teen mothers that give birth as a fraction of total births in Nigeria.

6 — Out of every 10 teens who get pregnant, 6 don’t receive adequate medical care.

85% — Around 85% of teen pregnancies are unplanned.

5 — Of every 10 girls who get pregnant, 5 say that their first interaction was unwished or involuntary.

Olamide represents today’s generation of teenage mothers whose dreams of a better life as educated and successful women have been sacrificed on the altar of social expectations. Because they got pregnant while in school (either through voluntary sex, forced marriage, or rape), these young women are condemned by society and sentenced to a lifetime of hardship.

For Olamide, all hope for a better future might have been completely lost but for the intervention of Girls Arise Initiative, a project of Bestspring Foundation, a non-profit organization in Nigeria run by Mrs Aramide Oikelome as founder and executive director.

Girls Arise Initiative is a mentoring club that provides a safe and supportive space for girls to build and actualize their dreams through education and life skills training, in spite of poverty or intimidation.

Ijegun, the Lagos slum where Olamide lives with her husband and children

Girls Arise Initiative is located in Ijegun, same neighbourhood where Olamide grew up and now lives with her husband and two children. Ijegun is a remote, densely populated community tucked away in the Alimosho local government area in Lagos State, Nigeria. It is under-developed and engulfed in abject poverty. A high percentage of youth here remain uninformed about their reproductive health, rights, and needs.

Hey! See the conversation about teenage pregnancy on Social Media:

Vox Pop: No consensus on teen moms and education [WATCH]

“Young girls are vulnerable to sexual violence when they are ignorant of their rights.” — Akin Jimoh

Girls Arise Initiative recently surveyed out-of-school girls in the Ijegun community. The survey revealed an ever-increasing spate of teenage pregnancy in Ijegun with girls becoming mothers who are least prepared for the tasks of motherhood.

This, the findings revealed, is due to the high poverty rate and struggle for survival here. Under such circumstances, youth, especially girls, are vulnerable and easily swayed in the wrong direction.

According to Akin Jimoh, program director of Development Communications Network — a non-profit in Nigeria focused on promoting public health — young girls “are vulnerable to sexual violence when they are ignorant of their rights.”

For some of these girls, pregnancy is a failure of judgement and failure, they say, is not final. So what should be the way out for them?

3 things that must be done to stem the tide of teenage pregnancy and its attendant problems

“A girl’s life and dreams should not come to a halt simply because she got pregnant while in school. She should be empowered through education and life skills”

  1. We must provide girls safe spaces to nurture their potential in spite of whatever mistakes they have made.
  2. We must advocate for a second chance for young mothers. Young mothers must have equal opportunities to empower themselves and earn income through education or skills acquisition.

Luckily, organisations such as Girls Arise Initiative are already leading the way but a lot still needs to be done, principally to eradicate the stigma that goes with being a teenage mother and society’s disposition to such a young girl as if she cannot amount to much in life as a result of that indiscretion.

We must reach out to parents, guardians, community elders, traditional rulers, faith-based organizations, educators, educational institutions, and other stakeholders in communities like Ijegun with this message. It is high time we as adults release our judgment of teen mothers so we can celebrate and encourage their potential and that of their children.

Olamide has a second chance to start again, thanks to Girls Arise Initiative.

If given such opportunities the benefits are boundless: Young mothers will still be able to pursue their educational dream, even up to tertiary level and beyond; they will be in a better frame of mind to raise healthy and happy babies; the rate at which they dump their newborns in septic tanks and refuse sites for orphanages to rescue will drop; the rates of attempted abortion, related complications, and maternal mortality will fall; young mothers who opt for skills acquisition will be empowered to make a living and take care of their children; the community will enjoy relative peace, progress, and socio-economic development.

Adolescent mothers should not be cast to the margins of society because they made mistakes while their mates are building brilliant careers and promising futures. We need not perpetuate cycles of poverty and waywardness by truncating girls’ dreams.

A girl’s life and dreams should not come to a halt simply because she got pregnant while in school. She should be empowered through education and life skills

)
Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade