Teen pregnancies: Uhuru should reconsider his methods

The president has decided to wage war on rapists. 

That’s what this headline would have looked like had he issued a different directive last week.

In case you missed it, President Uhuru Kenyatta recently ordered county commissioners to carry out a nationwide crackdown on private clinics offering emergency contraceptives to underage girls.

In my opinion, the wording of the order is very problematic. It could end up having an effect opposite to what was intended: it could punish girls and protect rapists instead.

If Mr Kenyatta really wants to help underage girls targeted by sex pests, he should order the police to arrest rapists in the towns where numbers of teenage pregnancies have gone up.

He should also consult the Ministry of Gender to come up with a plan on the best way to ensure that these survivors of rape have access to medicine and psychological support. 

He should also consult the experts on what measures should be put in place that ensure that these girls are not forced to stay in abusive homes. As a bonus, he could also publicly castigate leaders like the Embu Governor who recently said that wives should wear school uniforms to reduce instances of child rape in the county.

Directives issued by his administration should demonstrate a greater level of care to these girls. They need to feel that the authorities care about their welfare when they are abused.

More understanding and thought should go towards figuring out exactly why underage girls are getting contraceptives from these clinics.

Education failure

At the end of the day, at the crux of this matter is the failing of the system of education in Kenya, as well as our social ineptitude to teach and train children, to understand what is and is not right, and to arm them with what they need to go into the world. 

The white man’s inherited religion has somehow convinced us that sex, and doing it, and talking about it, and educating people on it, is bad – completely opposite of our African tradition. And so, when someone goes through 8-4-4, they do not have the tools or the language to understand consent. 

They do not understand that having sex with a minor is wrong. They do not understand that these things should be reported. No, instead they grow up thinking that rape is the fault of whatever garment of clothing a young innocent girl was wearing. 

They grow up thinking that emergency contraception is a symptom of a careless sexual lifestyle, as opposed to a very real life saving drug. 

They grow up to lack empathy and police, rather than protect, a very vulnerable segment of our population.