{"id":12233,"date":"2021-06-14T17:26:27","date_gmt":"2021-06-14T17:26:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/?p=12233"},"modified":"2021-06-14T15:52:45","modified_gmt":"2021-06-14T15:52:45","slug":"why-teen-pregnancies-are-up-in-tororo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/why-teen-pregnancies-are-up-in-tororo","title":{"rendered":"Why teen pregnancies are up in Tororo"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press<\/a> – Uganda<\/a>. <\/strong><\/span>Sitting on the porch of her parents\u2019 grass-thatched hut in Tororo District, Ms Brenda Athiono,18, speaks with regret as she narrates her ordeal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t go back to school in March because I was pregnant then,\u201d Ms Athiono , who gave birth in May, says.<\/p>\n

Athiono was in Primary Six at Merikit Primary School in Merikit Sub-county last year when a boda boda cyclist impregnated her, and later fled.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had no option but to take care of my pregnancy, but I am now happy that I gave birth to my baby,\u201d Athiono says.<\/p>\n

She is among thousands of girls who were impregnated in the district when the government imposed a lockdown in March last year to contain the spread of coronavirus.<\/p>\n

According to recent statistics, about 1,833 girls, mostly pupils, have been impregnated in the district in the past three months.<\/p>\n

The district biostatistician, Mr Ali Mugerwa, released the figures during a stakeholders dialogue organised by National Association of Women Organisation of Uganda (NAWO) last week.<\/p>\n

The findings indicate that the most hit sub-counties are Melinda (169), Eastern Division of Tororo Municipality (148), Nagongera (138), Kirewa (136), Mukuju (129), and Kwapa (105), among others.<\/p>\n

The leaders said the cases are likely to rise in the coming months following the new measures imposed, including the closure of schools for 42 days.<\/p>\n

Mr Mugerwa said most of the affected girls are aged between 10 and 19 years.\u201cMost of the cases were as a result of defilement by close family members, and victims are aged below 19 years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mr Mugerwa called for the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators to act as a deterrent to the community and ensure that girls\u2019 rights are respected.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it is a challenge because some parents connive with the defilers to stop the cases in exchange for money,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ms Christine Amasse, a resident of Asinge West Village in Merikit Sub-county, said the district should come up with strict ordinances to punish people who abuse the rights of girls and women.<\/p>\n

Ms Amasse said several girls are dropping out of school due violence perpetrated by their fathers.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy daughter dropped out of school because her father used to insult her for refusing to get married until she gave in,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Statistics from the district community development office, and Tororo District Youth Advocacy Network, a community-based organisation show that the rate of teenage pregnancy stands at 22 per cent in the district.<\/p>\n

Ms Edisa Athiono, a resident of Siwa C Village, said domestic violence is still a challenge because men still force their wives into sexual intercourse even when they are in their menstruation.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t refuse because if you do, they will send you packing the next morning,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Ms Pauline Nabwire, the programmes officer working at NAWO, attributed the rise of the cases to poor parenting, greed for dowry, poverty, peer pressure and cultural norms.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the communities are poor with the majority of them not in position to have a meal in a day and as a result, parents end up forcing their daughters to marry so that they get bride price,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Mr Benjamin Okecho, the chairperson of Iyolwa Sub-county, said they will mobilise residents to fight against the vices.<\/p>\n

The district chairperson, Mr John Okeya, told Daily Monitor recently that his leadership will also promote education of girl-child through fighting against early pregnancies and school drop-outs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want our girls to complete their studies so that they can have a better future,\u201d Mr Okeya said.<\/p>\n

editorial@ug.nationmedia.com<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. Sitting on the porch of her parents\u2019 grass-thatched hut in Tororo District, Ms Brenda Athiono,18, speaks with regret as she narrates her ordeal. \u201cI couldn\u2019t go back to school in March because I was pregnant then,\u201d Ms Athiono , who gave birth in May, says. Athiono was in Primary Six at Merikit […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":12232,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,8],"tags":[233,240,234],"class_list":["post-12233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","category-homepage-english","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-uganda","tag-uganda"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy teen pregnancies are up in Tororo - Uganda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sitting on the porch of her parents\u2019 grass-thatched hut in Tororo District, Ms Brenda Athiono,18, speaks with regret as ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/why-teen-pregnancies-are-up-in-tororo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why teen pregnancies are up in Tororo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sitting on the porch of her parents\u2019 grass-thatched hut in Tororo District, Ms Brenda Athiono,18, speaks with regret as ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/why-teen-pregnancies-are-up-in-tororo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Uganda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-06-14T17:26:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2021\/06\/img-60c77b2f0fc45.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/why-teen-pregnancies-are-up-in-tororo#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/why-teen-pregnancies-are-up-in-tororo\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Why teen pregnancies are up in Tororo\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-14T17:26:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/why-teen-pregnancies-are-up-in-tororo\"},\"wordCount\":594,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/why-teen-pregnancies-are-up-in-tororo#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2021\/06\/img-60c77b2f0fc45.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Uganda\",\"uganda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\",\"homepage-english\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/why-teen-pregnancies-are-up-in-tororo#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/why-teen-pregnancies-are-up-in-tororo\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/why-teen-pregnancies-are-up-in-tororo\",\"name\":\"Why teen pregnancies are up in Tororo - 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