Twenty-six girls at Kakwelesa Primary School in chief Mukonchi’s area in Kapiri Mposhi district have withdrawn from school owing to pregnancies and early marriages.
And chief Mukonchi of Kapiri Mposhi has ordered parents of the affected girls to immediately remove them from marriages or face excommunication from his area.
Chief Mukonchi also warned of stern action against men impregnating and marrying underage girls in his area.
“All men found marrying and impregnating girls of school going age and the girls’ parents should be prosecuted and punished accordingly,” chief Mukonchi said. “I’m not going to allow this to continue happening in my chiefdom.”
He urged the police to visit his area and arrest the culprits.
The girls who include one doing grade five, 12 grade sevens, five grade eight and seven grade nine pupils withdrew from learning after falling pregnant and they were married off by their parents.
Meanwhile, Central Province campaign against early marriages coordinator Dorothy Mambwe and chief Mukonchi confirmed the development in separate interviews.
The girls are said to have fallen pregnant and married off between 2013 and 2014.
Mambwe called on government and Non-Governmental Organisations to enhance sponsorship of the girl children in rural schools if issues of early marriages and pregnancies were to be addressed.
Mambwe, who is also MMD Chibwelelo ward councillor blamed the rise in early marriages and teenage pregnancies amongst school going girls on lack of support to continue with their education.
She observed that most girls in rural schools were not receiving adequate support from government and NGOs championing girls’ education.
“Poor government sponsorship and support from NGOs such as FAWEZA is a major cause as to why we are experiencing many early marriages and pregnancies in rural schools as compared to urban schools. Therefore, we need government and NGOs to also reach out to schools in rural areas,” Mambwe said.
Mambwe also urged stakeholders to critically look into the matter by conducting educational sensitisation activities in order to create awareness on the effects of early marriages and pregnancies especially in rural schools.