Tanzania: what happens to pregnant girls and teen moms?

On 1 December 2022, theAfrican Court on Human and People’s Rightsdismissedthe case against Tanzania fordenying pregnant and teen mothersaccess to publicschools. Summary of the Case The matter in question was initiated byEquality NowandTike Mwambipile. The latter is aTanzanian lawyerand the former is aglobal network of lawyers,activists, and supporters whose aim is to use the law to achievegender equality. Equality Nowalleged that the United Republic of Tanzania is in violation of theright to education,non-discrimination, and the best interest of the child. Itpoints out that Tanzania’s faults are present in its policies and State declarations that banpregnant girls and teen mothersfrom accessing public primary and secondary schools. As such,Equality Nowappealed to theAfrican Court on Human and People’s Rightsto order Tanzania to: – immediately revoke this policy; -invalidate regulation no. 4 ofEducation Regulations Expulsion and Exclusion of Pupils from Schools(2002); – remove the word “wedlock” as a ground for expulsion from schools; – amend theMarriage Act(1971) to harmonize the age of marriage to 18 years for both boys and girls; – develop strategies, programs, and nationwide campaigns that focus on addressing the issue of teen pregnancies through public education and awareness; – pray to order Tanzania to put in place constitutional legislative and administrative measures to guarantee the right to education. The Country, on the other hand, claimed that the applicantsdid not sufficiently exhaust local remedies and that there were already similar casesagainst Tanzania before theAfrican Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Childand theCentre for Reproductive Rights,the decisions of which are stillpending policy enforcementin Tanzania. As such, Tanzania prayed to the Court to dismiss this matter and declare it inadmissible (invalid).The Court cumulatively determined that the appeal did not meet all 3 admissibility requirements and, in particular, the requirement under Article 56 (7) of itsCharter,which states that the Court does:“Not deal with cases which have not been settled by those States involved…” The conclusion of the Court’s ruling was thatthe matter was inadmissible,as read by Honorable Lady Justice Tujilane Rose Chizumila. What Happens To Pregnant Girls and Teen Mothers in Tanzania? Unfortunately, this means pregnant girls and teen mothers in Tanzaniacannotaccess the public school education system.The dismissal of the present case and the lack of a solid decision on the already-existing cases against Tanzania leaves their fate uncertain. Tanzania has ahistoryof denying teen mothers access to education.Reuterspoints outthat this was first seen in 1961 and such expulsions have significantly increased especially after public endorsement by former President John Magufuli. This policy was rapidly enforced, causingthe expulsionofmore than 55.000 school-girlsinTanzaniabetween 2003 and 2013. Equality Nownotesthat Tanzania is among the African countries that continuouslyviolate girls’ rightsby failing to protect their bodily integrity and even denying them access to education once they get pregnant due to sexual violation. Evidently, Tanzania reportedly has: – the highest rate of child marriage in the world, where 37% of girls marry before the age of 18; -almost 30%of girls experience sexual violence before the age of 18; -17% of women aged 15 to 49 years as victims of sexual violence. Equality Nowcontinues by stating that thelack of accountability for sexual violenceagainst young girls in Tanzania fosters impunity and encourages increased violations against girls. An example of such acts happened in 2017 whenreports indicatedthat former President John Magufuli granted a presidential pardon to 2 men who served 13 years in prison for raping 10 primary school-girls between the ages of 6 and 8. The pardon was followed by his announcement banning all pregnant girls from going to school. From the trends we see in Tanzania, all we can do is play the waiting game in the hopes that President Samia Suluhu will use her Government to make this right,readmitting pregnant girls and teen mothers to public schools.