Gender and human rights activists in collaboration with Chadema’s Women Wing (Bawacha) plan to file a case against the government on what they call the breach of the Constitution and regulations by some government leaders led by President John Magufuli.
Speaking during a press conference in the city yesterday, Bavicha national chairperson Halima Mdee expressed Bawacha’s criticism over President Magufuli’s recent statement that under his presidency no pregnant schoolgirl would be allowed to resume studies after giving birth.
Ms Mdee said President Magufuli had severally acted and made statements, which were against the Constitution and which implied that he was above the law, something that she said should be condemned by Tanzanians, inclusing Members of the Parliament.
She went on saying that Tanzania had signed some regional and international instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, Education for All (AFA), the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and others that compelled the government to ensure girl children’s right to education wasn’t compromised even if they got pregnant.
“If the country deliberately signed these treaties how would President Magufuli decide to act against them? This clearly portrays his hatred for the children of this country and this move will destroy the future of these children because they are barred from going to school,” she added.
Ms Mdee elaborated that meanwhile activists and civil society organisations (CSOs) had prepared a petition against the President’s stance on teen pregnancy that required women in the country to sign it (through www.change.org) to file the case.
She also called upon parents, whose children had given birth to ensure they brought them back to school by even taking the matter to court because it was their constitutional right.
When opening the 64-kilometre Msata-Bagamoyo Road during his three-day tour of Coast Region, President Magufuli said the idea of allowing teen mothers back to school was a foreign concept “championed by NGOs and other people, who did not wish the country well”.
In February last year, the ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Vocational Training issued guidelines on how to enable pregnant schoolgirls to resume studies.
According to Chapter Three of the guidelines, the affected girls would be accorded one re-entry opportunity per school cycle and will be required to resume studies within the year.
The guidelines allow a young mother to choose to go back to the same or another school and be free to choose formal or non-formal education. Zanzibar has also an elaborate policy on the same.