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{
    "id": 491022,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/491022/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 146,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Sometime back, it was a bit unusual to talk about pregnancies from fathers, but it is no longer so. This is something that we have to be bold and talk about. We have to talk about it very loudly and very clearly. I think we have the forum to do so. There are families and girls in this country who are suffering because their fathers have decided to prey on them. There is a report produced some time back showing that most of the girls’ first experiences is actually with their fathers. I was speaking to somebody yesterday and saying that if fathers cannot protect their daughters, I do not know who will protect them. This is, probably, one thing that we are not talking about. I remember some time back, we had a problem of families killing each other. You find father, mother, daughter or son being killed. At that point, I reflected that the reason might be inter-conflict that happens either through incest or people doing what Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. was talking about, that these are children who should not survive so they are killed. There are also conflicts between husbands and wives who realize that some of these children being born by their daughters are the children of their fathers. I think we have a big problem. This is the time to discuss it. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, there are various angles and reasons for this phenomenon. The statistics are also worrying because according to the National Council for Population and Development Report, 2012, Nyanza led in teenage pregnancies at 27 per cent. Unfortunately, where I come from, the coast region, it was 26 per cent. When I was listening to Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. talking about girls who go with trucks and park overnight at Makueni, I could not help, but wonder whether some of them are from that particular group. You can see a direct association between teenage pregnancies and educational performance. Speaking for the coast region, education performance has been a problem for both boys and girls, but especially so for girls. This could be some of the leap over effects in terms of children not valuing education and not striving to achieve as a result of wanting to move very quickly into parenthood. Sometimes it is caused by social and cultural practices that encourage young girls to get pregnant; for example, cultures like the Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) where immediately after the exercise, it is seen to be the right thing for a girl to do. This becomes a norm in those societies. The girl is not encouraged to be something worthwhile in this life. Therefore, she does not strive for education. Such a culture makes it look like it is only marriage that is important. Some of these teenage pregnancies could come up in a marriage set up because some of them are married off as early as 12 years old. What happens when the girl gets her first or second baby? She might be kicked out of the marriage ending up as a single mother who cannot go back to school, her opportunity is gone. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I remember some time back, I went to Baringo to visit a lady who had six children, but she had had a chance to go back to school. She was very appreciative and focused in her educational pursuit. I am happy that she got that opportunity. That is what Sen. Ongoro is trying to encourage. It does not matter what the circumstances are. What we have not done is to deal with the environment to allow her to remain there. Most of the time she will go back to the environment and she will be teased The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}