A Human rights group in Tanzania has condemned the arrest of five pregnant schoolgirls, saying they should have arrested the men that got them pregnant instead.
Information reaching us this time reveals that the students who are between ages 16 to 19 were arrested in the southeastern town of Tandahimba over the weekend.
The group says:
“Prosecuting girls who are victims of sexual exploitation and violence, whilst allowing adult perpetrators to go free, sends out the wrong message,” said Christa Stewart, a lawyer with the charity Equality Now.
“In a misguided attempt to prove that they take sexual violence seriously, the Tanzanian government is infringing on the human rights of adolescent girls and this is unacceptable.
“Arresting victims is never the solution.”
They have been released on bail and are currently with their parents.
However, the arrest of the teenage girls might have been triggered by Tanzania president, John Magufuli when he made an outcry among campaigners, placing a ban on pregnant girls and teenage mothers in state schools, which dates back to 1961, describing their behaviour as “immoral”.
Quite a number of groups and international bodies have criticized the action, saying their arrest was unlawful and illegal.
New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights said the arrests were “unacceptable” and called for the men to be arrested.
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Sabrina Mahtani of the rights group Amnesty International said the arrests were illegal.
Meanwhile, the United Nations has classified Tanzania as one nation with the highest adolescent pregnancy rates in the world, with widespread sexual violence and many girls exchanging sex for school fees, food and shelter.
In December, the district commissioner in Tandahimba, Sebastian Waryuba ordered the arrests of 55 other girls who gave birth over the past two years and their parents.
He said the arrests would deter other students from getting pregnant, and will also serve as a lesson to parents to stop their children engaging in “reckless” sexual relationships.
A district education official said that police were also looking for the men who impregnated the students, and that they would be charged with rape as most of the girls were minors.
“They will be charged with rape because our law is very clear that sex with someone below the age of 18 is rape,” said Sosthenes Luhende, an education officer in Tandahimba.
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