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"id": 940705,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Malalah",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 13195,
"legal_name": "Cleophas Wakhungu Malalah",
"slug": "cleophas-wakhungu-malalah-2"
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"content": "Kakamega County had 20,000 teenage pregnancies that translate to around 56 girls getting pregnant every day. As a leader in Kakamega County, I was prompted to quickly look into ways we can partner with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to ensure that we have a dialogue about teenage pregnancy. Through my office, I was able to engage with the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) Health Africa who funded a two day convention in Kakamega Golf Hotel to talk about teenage pregnancy. We invited all stakeholders that is, the County Commissioner, Police departments, the county governments, the boda boda riders and everybody who plays a role when it comes to teenage pregnancies. That dialogue was an interesting one; we dissected issues ranging from the causality and consequences of teenage pregnancy. We wanted to hear from the horse’s mouth; we had presentations from school going girls and boys, we were shocked. Some of these girls even confided in us that sometimes they are not being defiled to get pregnant rather it is them who want the pregnancy. We were in a meeting with Sen. Shiyonga and the 20 school girls and they raised issues that are deeper than what we see on paper, for example, one of the girls said that one of the causes of teenage pregnancy is lack of proper housing. We wondered how housing can cause teenage pregnancy and she elaborated that they live in a two-roomed house. When they go to sleep, they sleep adjacent to their parent’s room. It is hard for them to restrain themselves from the activities happening and they know it is happening from the neighboring room. Therefore, it prompted them to have the urge of going to look for say, a boyfriend, and that is one of the causes of teenage pregnancies. They even alluded to us that poverty is very key when it comes to causes of teenage pregnancies. They said that sometimes they go to indulge in sexual activities just to get money to buy sanitary towels; it is very sad. It is the obligation of the national Government together with the county governments to ensure that our girls are provided with sanitary towels in good time. I have seen most of the County Women Representatives trying to mitigate that problem and provide sanitary towels, but not in a sustainable way. How I wish it becomes a policy that all girls in this Republic of Kenya should have the right to access sanitary towels as and when they need them. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we interrogated the people who are close to these girls in schools, that is the teachers who do counseling and guidance and they confessed to us that the counseling and guidance department in most of the schools is not well funded. Therefore, it is very hard for them to execute their mandate when it comes to counselling and guidance. It is very important for us to open up that conversation as to whether schools should prioritize this. We can even give them ceilings that they must provide 10 per cent of their income as a school to guiding and counseling so that we have a sustainable way of engaging these girls and taking them through life skills. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we realized that the existing and emerging laws in this country are really cushioning these students and giving a lot of rights. It is very hard for a teacher to discipline a student. Nowadays, in fact, it is a criminal offense for a teacher to discipline a student. I have even seen in this Bill that a girl has got a right to The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}