Mukanda:Girls Behaviour Influenced By Films They Watch On TV

THE Secondary School Teachers Union of Zambia (SESTUZ) says the campaign that has been mounted in the fight against HIV/AIDS should also be applied in sensitising schoolgirls against teenage pregnancies.
SESTUZ Copperbelt chairperson Anthony Mukanda, who is concerned about the high number of school girls dropping out of school due to pregnancies, said campaigners should fight teenage pregnancies vigorously in the same way the battle against HIV, cervical cancer and promotion of male circumcision are being fought.
“Unplanned early child pregnancies have contributed to the high drop out of schoolgirls. Girls of today are maturing at a very tender age and even their social behaviour is influenced by the films they watch on both TV and the internet,” Mr Mukanda said.
Mr Mukanda noted that in cases were girls fall pregnant, they are usually stigmatised and as a result they do not take advantage of the re-entry policy to continue their education.
He said despite being aware of the HIV pandemic, many girls are indulging in unprotected sex and placing their lives at risk of contracting the disease.
He urged schoolgirls to guard themselves against illicit social behaviours and concentrate on their education.
He said the way forward is basically to mount robust campaigns in advocacy on the importance of education especially in rural areas.
Mr Mukanda said in an interview that the girl child in rural areas is endangered because education is viewed as a pass time activity for girls.
He appealed to Government to introduce social custody and educational schemes for double orphaned girls who do not have relatives to care for them.
He also supported organisations that are calling for the arrest of parents who marry off their children at an early age.