The boy child and premature fatherhood

"The Morning After" by Florence Mbaya. PHOTO | COURTESY

What you need to know:

  • Abigail gets raped by Richard. The result of that action is an expectant Form Three girl.
  • Abigail bears the shame and the blame of an unwanted pregnancy.
  • Abigail chooses to take responsibility of her life. She goes back to school.
  • Richard is expected to man up and take responsibility of taking care of his son.

Book title:The Morning After

Author: Florence Mbaya

Publisher: East African Educational Publishers

Price: Sh410 (Prestige Bookshop)

Reviewer: Rumona Apiyo

After the KCPE results, what next? Who will take care of my child? Is this the end of my education? What if I fail the exams? The questions are myriad and varied in nature, depending on one's family background and academic prowess.

Abigail gets raped by Richard. The result of that action is an expectant Form Three girl. Abigail bears the shame and the blame of an unwanted pregnancy. She is also forced to face the wrath of Kivitu villagers, who sneer at their family because of their runaway father.

Despite the challenges that come with being a teenage single mother, having an absentee father in addition to welcoming a new member to their family — Amos, the illegitimate son of Reuben, her father — Abigail chooses to take responsibility of her life. She goes back to Union High School, this time more resolute and bold to face her studies.

With her other classmates, they emerge among the best after the KCSE results were announced. As a matter of fact, Abigail tops Wema County. Hers is a bright future, once again, true; there is a way to be good.

CONSEQUENCES

On the other hand, Richard, the father of Benji, is left to face the consequences of impregnating Abigail. Unlike Abigail, who receives overwhelming support from her family, he is slapped with all sorts of condemnations. He is expected to man up and take responsibility of taking care of his son.

Worse still, he adds salt to the already painful injury by failing his KCSE. The same friends who led him to raping Abigail and later on tormenting him with blackmail, start laughing at him, which leads him to take desperate and far-reaching decisions which are misinformed.

The author leaves us with one critical decision to make. Our young girls are getting pregnant at as young as 13, which is very sad. We will campaign for the young girls; support them through high school education.

What happens to the young boys that put these young girls in the parental way? Who talks to them? Who asks them to get back to school? Who teaches them about taking responsibility? Who explains to them that it is not the end of life?

Richard joins criminals in a bid to get enough money to take up his responsibility and regain his glory. If only someone had taken their time to support him emotionally and psychologically, perhaps Benji would have grown up knowing his parents.

I am not blinded to the fact that some of these girls are put in the family way by grown men who have families of their own. At times, it is even the teachers who have been given the trust of taking care of these girls only to defile them. The deserve to be punished.

We are facing a national crisis that needs to be looked into from all dimensions.