The African Union should provide guidelines and encourage policy reforms to ensure that girls can continue their education
(Nairobi) – In nearly a third of African countries, pregnant adolescents face significant legal and policy barriers preventing them from pursuing formal education, Human Rights Watch said today. However, most African governments currently protect access to education in principle through laws, policies or measures adopted in favor of pregnant students or teenage mothers.
A new interactive index from Human Rights Watch and a comprehensive compilation of laws and policies relating to teenage pregnancy in African Union (AU) schools details laws and policies in place, as well as gaps, to protect the girls’ access to education. Human rights-compliant frameworks are necessary first steps to protect girls’ access to education, Human Rights Watch said. Governments should invest in the implementation, monitoring and enforcement of policies at the school level. Without such measures, tens of thousands of students across Africa will continue to be excluded.
“Many pregnant girls and teenage mothers in Africa continue to be denied their basic right to education for reasons that are disconnected from their own desire to learn, and their ability to do so,” said Adi Radhakrishnan, Leonard H. Sandler Fellow in the Children’s Rights Division at Human Rights Watch. “Authorities should not arbitrarily deprive some girls of access to education as punishment for becoming pregnant. »
Human Rights Watch reviewed more than 100 laws and policies related to education, gender equity strategies, and sexual and reproductive health policies and plans across the AU.
Among the 54 African countries, 38 countries have laws, policies or measures that protect the education of adolescent girls during pregnancy and motherhood. Some of these countries have recently reversed negative policies. In March 2022, Togo repealed a 1978 circular that banned pregnant students and teenage mothers from attending school. In 2019, Niger repealed a law that temporarily excluded girls who became pregnant and permanently expelled married students from school, and replaced it with a new policy that explicitly protects their right to education.
At least ten AU member states have no laws or policies relating to the retention of pregnant students or teenage mothers in schools. Many AU countries also lack policies to prevent and manage teenage pregnancies – or they are insufficient – which undermines children’s right to sexual and reproductive rights, including the right to access health care. reproductive health and comprehensive sex education.
Many of these are countries in North Africa or the Horn of Africa with problematic laws and policies that make sexual behavior outside marriage a criminal offence, which can interfere with girls’ right to ‘education. Most countries in the region lack policies related to the management of teenage pregnancy and the treatment of pregnant students in schools.
In Libya, Mauritania and Morocco, girls and women who have sex outside of marriage risk heavy penalties and criminal penalties. Elsewhere in North Africa, girls and women with children born out of wedlock are often seen as bringing dishonor to their families. Girls in these situations might not be allowed or able to stay in school as they would be exposed to public humiliation and social stigma.
Other African governments have adopted measures from a child protection perspective designed to address teenage pregnancies, but these measures are often insufficient to ensure girls’ access to education. In Congo (Brazzaville), the authorities claimed that they ensured the reintegration of students after childbirth, among other measures, by initiating criminal proceedings against men who impregnated women and girls under 21 years of age.
Criminal sanctions for consensual sex between adults or between children of a similar age violate fundamental rights to privacy and non-discrimination, but do little to positively protect the education rights of the students involved. , Human Rights Watch found. Pregnant students or teenage mothers continue to face discrimination and exclusion in the absence of additional policies that explicitly protect access to education and address social, financial, or academic barriers to pursuing formal schooling.
The African Union, under its Education, Science, Technology and Innovation Directorate, should work with governments to move education systems towards the full inclusion of girls in public schools , Human Rights Watch said. It should press governments to review existing laws, remove problematic policies that undermine the rights to education for all children, and adopt measures consistent with their human rights obligations – while inspiring best practices tested by many of its members.
The AU should encourage all its members to respect, protect and fulfill the sexual and reproductive health rights of adolescent girls. It should ensure that pregnant students or parents are allowed to stay in school for as long as they wish, that they are able to continue their studies without being subjected to complex or cumbersome withdrawal and reintegration, and that they have access to adequate financial and social support to complete their studies.
“While many African countries have adopted laws and policies relating to girls’ education, many still lack specific frameworks for pregnant students and teenage mothers to stay in school or continue their education without discriminatory barriers. concluded Adi Radhakrishnan. “The African Union should provide clear guidance to governments and urge all its members to adopt human rights compliant policies ensuring that students can continue their education during pregnancy and maternity. »
Current Practices Across the African Union
The overwhelming majority of African Union (AU) countries have ratified the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (the African treaty on the rights of the child), and the Protocol to the African Charter Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol, or the Treaty on African Women’s Rights), obliging them to take special measures to ensure girls’ equal access to education, to raise the minimum age of marriage to 18 and to take all appropriate measures to ensure that girls who become pregnant have the right to continue and complete their education.
Human Rights Watch has generated the first comprehensive interactive index available and analysis of measures and policies applied across the AU to protect or impede access to education for girls who are pregnant or have children. Human Rights Watch has reviewed more than 100 laws and official policies of African legislatures and ministries of education, health, women and social affairs in all AU member countries, to understand how African governments protect or impede access to education for pregnant students or teenage mothers.
Human Rights Watch also conducted interviews with education experts, activists, and nongovernmental organizations to better understand how the policies work in practice, and contacted government ministries and country diplomatic missions to Obtain official government contribution.
Most AU countries have adopted laws and policies that protect girls’ right to stay in school during pregnancy and maternity. Many more countries have positive frameworks protecting the education of pregnant girls and teenage mothers in national law or policy than countries that lack policies, or have discriminatory measures. By 2022, at least 38 AU countries had already put in place measures that protect the right to education of pregnant students and teenage mothers to varying degrees.
Human Rights Watch classified the range of existing state measures into five categories: “continuation” policies, “reintegration” policies, no policies positively protecting girls’ access to education, laws or practices criminalizing those who become pregnant. outside marriage, and school bans.
“Continuation” policies allow pregnant students to choose to stay in school, with no mandatory absences at any time during pregnancy or after birth. They also give students the ability to temporarily stop studying for childbirth and related physical and mental health needs, and the ability to return to school after birth at a time that suits them, without complex reinstatement. These policies better reflect the extent of a government’s human rights obligations and emphasize girls’ autonomy in decision-making.
“Reintegration” policies protect girls’ right to return to school, but present additional barriers for students. These include long mandatory periods of maternity leave and complicated conditions or requirements for re-entry, such as requiring students to transfer to another school or presenting letters from various school officials. education and health. Human Rights Watch has found that these requirements can negatively affect a new mother’s willingness and ability to catch up on learning as she goes through a huge transition in her life.
Many countries still lack a positive policy framework. Pregnant girls and teenage mothers may be at risk of criminal sanctions, arbitrary school decisions, and social and community barriers to continuing their education.
In 10 countries, the lack of positive protections exposes students to irregular access to education at school level, where school officials can decide what happens to a girl’s education, and where discriminatory attitudes and social barriers cause girls to drop out altogether.
In 2018, Human Rights Watch found that 4 countries—Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Togo—had discriminatory measures that prohibited pregnant students or mothers from continuing their studies. By August 2022, all of these countries except Equatorial Guinea had revoked these bans. In 2020, Sierra Leone reversed its discriminatory policy by revoking a 10-year ban on pregnant students, and in March 2021 adopted a so-called “Radical Inclusion” policy reaffirming the right to education of pregnant girls and teenage mothers.
In November 2021, the Tanzanian Ministry of Education passed Circular No. 2 of 2021 on Re-entry of Secondary Education Dropouts, which specifically stipulates the right of teenage mothers to return to public schools and includes instructions for schools to welcome these students. In March 2022, Togo’s education minister repealed a 1978 circular that authorized a long-standing school ban on pregnant students. Togo and Tanzania have not adopted a policy defining measures to guarantee the education of pregnant students or mothers.
Countries with Positive Protections: Continuation Policies Continuation and reintegration policies are not new frameworks for African governments. Some countries have had frameworks for decades that protect the right to education of pregnant students and teenage mothers. These policies encourage and support the education and academic progress of these students, and prevent punishment or explicit exclusion from school due to pregnancy. Yet even in countries with a reintegration framework, pregnant girls are often unable to continue their education due to discriminatory attitudes on the part of school officials, the stigma associated with having children out of wedlock and a lack of
Seychelles
Seychelles has had a policy since 2005 that provides clear and specific procedures for schools and parents to help students who become pregnant complete their formal education. When a pupil of compulsory school age becomes pregnant, she is explicitly “allowed to stay in the same school for the first six months of her pregnancy. After six months, the student “can leave school to have her child” and can return to the same school after giving birth, offering girls the choice of taking maternity leave rather than imposing a compulsory period of absence. However, the student must return within a year of giving birth.
The policy further obligates school officials and family members to support her at school and after her return, and outlines the responsibilities of each party involved to ensure the teenage mother is able to succeed. at school. Specific procedures outline in more detail the circumstances under which they may be able to move up a grade, or may need to repeat, setting clear expectations when returning to school.
Seychelles has recognized the particular barriers adolescent girls face in accessing sexual and reproductive health services, including parental consent requirements. The government has also taken additional steps to provide sexual and reproductive health education, make abortion and contraceptive services available and accessible to adolescent girls, and ensure that young people can access these health services after hours. of class.
The Seychellois government told Human Rights Watch that the country is revising its 2005 policy. When reviewing existing protections, the government should adopt policies that guarantee compliance with its international obligations and ensure that teenage mothers are allowed to return to formal education without complex or cumbersome reintegration processes, at any time after childbirth.
Positive steps taken by some countries affected by conflict or fragile conditions In times of armed conflict, girls and women face increased gender inequalities and gender-based discrimination, in part due to the widespread sexual violence by members of national armed forces and non-state armed groups, and on the other hand higher levels of poverty which exacerbate gender-based violence. Survivors of sexual violence rarely return to school due to stigma and humiliation, and often lack access to accelerated learning or emergency education programs that meet their needs. Those who return often lack support to continue their studies.
Some African countries affected by armed conflict, which in many cases have high rates of teenage pregnancy, have recently taken important steps to protect the right of girls to stay in school and to support pregnant students. or mothers.
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso has had a law in place since 1974 that protects pregnant students and mothers from expulsion or exclusion from school and requires schools to allow for their reintegration after childbirth. In 2021, the Ministry of Education published an official ministerial guide on the prevention of “early sexuality” and the management of pregnancy and early marriage in schools, the Guide d’orientation et de coordination des Actions de prevention early sexuality, management of pregnancies and child marriages in schools.
This guide affirms positive protections for pregnant students and further outlines case management protocols, data collection standards, and referral pathways for physical and mental health services once school officials learn a student’s pregnancy. However, the current framework in Burkina Faso does not specify re-enrollment processes, or detail what type of financial, academic, or social support schools should provide to pregnant students or teenage mothers in formal education institutions.
Niger
Niger has historically had the highest rates of early marriage and childbearing in Africa, and has experienced active conflict since 2012. In 2012, one of the last years for which data is available, 48% of young women in Niger had given birth before the age of 18. Between 2015 and 2020, 76% of girls in Niger were married before the age of 18, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
In February 2019, the Nigerien government repealed a 1978 directive that temporarily excluded pregnant girls from school and even excluded them altogether in the event of marriage. In August 2019, the government introduced a new policy that provides strong protections for girls’ education. Article 8 of Joint Order No. 334 of August 22, 2019 affirmatively guarantees that a student can continue her studies in the event of pregnancy or marriage. In addition, the order stipulates that disciplinary measures will be taken against any school official who refuses to allow a student to continue her studies after giving birth.
A student must return to school within 40 days of giving birth, except in exceptional circumstances. The decree also instructs the Ministry of Education to adopt a circular defining the sanctions against school officials who refuse to allow a student mother to return to school. The government should remove time requirements for continuing education and provide specific guidance to schools on their obligations to enroll and support pregnant students or mothers.
Guinea-Bissau
In March 2022, the government of Guinea-Bissau submitted a draft child protection law that includes important protections for pregnant girls and teenage mothers to access education and receive support. needed to stay in school. Sections 67 and 68 of the bill ensure that a pregnant student or teenage mother cannot be prevented from continuing her education or forced to drop out of school. The bill also stipulates that pregnant students or students with a child must be supported to access classes on a regular basis. Schools must ensure that all mothers, regardless of education level, can breastfeed their child until the age of six months, in accordance with the recommendations of the
In May 2022, the President of Guinea-Bissau dissolved the National Assembly, halting these legislative efforts. In the absence of legal protections, Guinea-Bissau’s Ministry of Education should implement policy guidelines to effectively adopt the same protections throughout its education system.
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic has recently taken steps to codify positive protections for education. Section 72 of the 2020 Child Protection Code guarantees that a student who becomes pregnant will have the right to return to primary or secondary school.
Countries Whose Laws on Morality or Criminalizing Certain Sexual Intercourse Impact Education Human Rights Watch found that governments in North Africa generally lack policies related to dealing with teenage pregnancy in schools. In the absence of enforceable frameworks, pregnant girls or mothers may face criminal and community barriers to pursuing their education.
Education and child protection experts have said that due to the highly taboo nature of pregnancy outside marriage, authorities in North Africa almost never collect data or, when they do, it this often involves unreliable data regarding teenage pregnancy rates, as well as teenage pregnancies in schools relevant for policy-making. Such attitudes and unreliable data contribute to a cycle of inequality and invisibility, leading to a lack of measures to adequately meet the needs of girls facing pregnancy or motherhood.
North Africa
Across North Africa, most countries impose “morality” based punishments on girls and women for violations of the crime of zina, a legal term derived from interpretations of Islamic law to prohibit consensual sex. outside of marriage. Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania and Morocco have codified the crimes of adultery, indecency and non-marital sex in ways that threaten adolescent girls. The crime of zina is tied to additional social taboos and the perception that a pregnant girl or single mother brings dishonor to her family and community.
Article 307 of the Mauritanian penal code criminalizes consensual sexual relations between a man and a woman outside marriage. Violation of this article can be punished by 100 lashes and one year in prison if the accused is not married. Sentences of flogging are postponed until a woman has given birth. Although the text of Section 307 limits its application to “adult Muslims,” Human Rights Watch research in 2018 found that some prosecutors charge teenage girls under Section 307, even when they are pregnant.
Notably, any indication or visible sign of pregnancy can trigger a crime of zina investigation. For many girls and women, the threat of prosecution and the social stigma attached to the suspicion of having violated zina is a punishment in itself. The social taboo reinforced by penal sanctions often leads families to force girls to leave the house or to coerce girls into marriage.
In this context, the pursuit of education is almost impossible for girls with children. Even when countries have policies that promote girls’ education, including compulsory education laws, they contradict those policies by enforcing laws that criminalize sexual activity outside of marriage. As a result, zina crimes perpetuate gender discrimination, as pregnancy may serve as sufficient ‘evidence’ of an offense and further impede girls’ right to education.
In Mauritania, people who refuse a girl under the age of 18 to continue her studies because of pregnancy are liable to a criminal fine. Yet the criminalization of sex outside marriage presents a significant and contradictory barrier for pregnant girls and teenage mothers to access education during pregnancy or after birth.
North African countries do not apply uniform criminal penalties for the crime of zina. In Algeria, the penal code does not criminalize consensual non-marital sex per se, but the threat of prosecution under laws that target adultery is a barrier for young adolescent girls. Similarly, Egypt does not criminalize non-marital sex between unmarried people, but it does criminalize adultery, “public indecency” and “incitement to debauchery”, which could deter girls from dating. school if they are pregnant out of wedlock.
Tunisia
Although Tunisia does not criminalize consensual sex between unmarried people, it does criminalize adultery between married people, public indecency, and sex work. Although these charges have sometimes led to the arrest of adult women in unmarried relationships, a Tunisian lawyer interviewed by Human Rights Watch said that these charges do not appear to have been used to penalize girls who become pregnant out of wedlock as as a barrier to access to education.
Even if they are not charged with such crimes, pregnant girls and teenage mothers are still not fully protected to stay in school. When a student becomes pregnant, educators and child protection workers often assume the girl is the victim of sexual assault, a child protection expert said. And although no law or policy prohibits pregnant girls or mothers from attending school, girls often drop out due to social attitudes and are only allowed to return if they have both family and a medical certificate or a letter from a social worker justifying their absence.
Tunisia’s teenage pregnancy rate is low compared to other North African countries. The adolescent birth rate in Tunisia was 7 per 1,000 girls aged 15 to 19 between 2004 and 2020, according to UNFPA data. The low rates can be partly attributed to the availability of services for adolescents to prevent or terminate pregnancy. Abortion is legal and free in the first trimester, but parental or guardian consent is required for girls under 18, and teenage girls may face other barriers such as drug shortages, refusal by health workers to provide treatment and delays.
However, the actual rate of teenage pregnancy, especially outside marriage, may be higher than reported data, said Samia Ben Messaoud, who runs Amal for Family and Child, an organization that supports the rights of mothers. single people and their children. The number of girls seeking the services of the group has increased in recent years.
Countries Whose Absence of Policies in this Area Lead to Exclusion Human Rights Watch found that 15 African countries, including Somalia and Ethiopia, do not mandate exclusion of pregnant girls and teenage mothers, but lack a positive reinstatement or continuation policy. The lack of positive protections often leads to inconsistent enforcement of compulsory education in schools, leaving school officials free to decide whether pregnant girls can stay in school and allowing discriminatory attitudes and social barriers to prevail. push girls to give up.
Without positive protections and investments in academic or social support, pregnant girls and teenage mothers are effectively kicked out. Many also face a lack of support at school, at home or in the community to continue their education.
Somalia
In Somalia, access to education is a challenge for many children due to poverty, long distances to schools and armed conflict. There is a consistent gender gap in primary and secondary school enrollment rates. According to recent federal government data, only 39% of high school students in government-controlled areas in the 2015-2016 school year were girls. No data was available for people living in areas controlled by the Islamist armed group Al-Shabab.
Girls and women in Somalia bear an unequal burden of hardship caused by poverty, armed conflict and cultural limitations on the role of girls and women in society. Parents are reluctant to send their daughters to distant schools due to the risk of abuse, poor sanitation and high school fees. Girls face additional barriers due to social norms favoring education for boys, a shortage of female educators, and low availability of reproductive health information and services in schools.
Although no law or policy excludes pregnant students or mothers, the combination of social costs and community pressures causes these students to drop out. Once they become mothers, girls often face a greater level of responsibility at home. Girls, who are treated like adults once they have children and who have to take care of household chores, need the help of their communities to care for their new baby. A gender equality expert who asked to remain anonymous said:
There is almost no way for them [girls who are mothers] to come back as regular students who attend classes. There is no flexibility, no support for breastfeeding and [there is] a stigma associated with even bringing your child to school.…Usually if girls try to go to school , they only manage to hold out for a total of six hours, and then they collapse. They are in charge of housekeeping and are expected to do all the cooking and cleaning before school, and they also try to keep up with their education.
If a girl becomes pregnant out of wedlock, she may face additional pressure to drop out of school and get married. “It is better for [the girl] to stay at home and get married as soon as possible to protect her honor, the honor of her family, and to avoid any responsibility,” a gender expert said of the situation in Somalia.
Ethiopia
In Ethiopia, there are no laws or policies that protect or hinder girls’ education during pregnancy. Pregnant pupils and mothers are in principle able to continue their studies. But it is rare for a pregnant or married student to return to formal education due to social norms, childcare obligations and economic challenges. Pregnant unmarried girls are severely stigmatized by their peers in school and their community. Education experts said married students have continued to attend school in some cases, but their return depends on their husbands’ willingness and their ability to manage the direct and indirect costs of continuing education.
Instead, some Ethiopian students are eligible for indirect education services, such as integrated Adult Functional Literacy programs limited to basic skills and vocational training that are generally available to “out-of-school” children. . However, these programs are not enough to fulfill Ethiopia’s human rights obligations to provide secondary education to all children. All students should have the right to study in formal secondary schools or choose an appropriate equivalent that offers flexibility, and to receive full accreditation and end-of-curriculum secondary education certificates.
Egypt
In Egypt, married pregnant students or mothers are supposed to be able to continue their education through home schooling. However, Egypt’s national policy on homeschooling does not explicitly refer to students who are mothers. Home schooling should be generally available to any student who chooses this option. Homeschooling is not suited to the academic needs of pregnant students or mothers. Still, married students, with the support of their parents, can request textbooks to use at home and take annual exams.
But Human Rights Watch found that students who become pregnant out of wedlock generally don’t receive the same support and encouragement to continue their education at home. And they risk serious consequences, including violence, and in some cases even murder, at the hands of male family members.
Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville)
In its 2017 report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the government of Congo (Brazzaville) said it guaranteed the reintegration of students after childbirth citing laws which impose criminal penalties on men who impregnate women and girls under the age of 21. Yet applicable laws, such as the Child Protection Act 2010, which imposes these criminal penalties, do little to prevent sexual violence or teenage pregnancies, or to protect pregnant students from continuing their education. and teenage mothers. Congo (Brazzaville) continues to face high rates of teenage pregnancy according to UNFPA data, at 111 per 1,000 girls aged 15-19.
The Congolese government should build on measures such as its 2016 Girls’ Education Strategy, which outlines strategies to prevent and treat teenage pregnancy, including through access to free medical care, as well as a boost in information, education and communication campaigns to combat gender-based violence, sexual harassment and teenage pregnancies.
Recommendations
To all Member States of the African Union
Ensure that students who are pregnant, mothers or married can continue their studies without obstacles or burdensome procedures, and ensure that schools are free from stigma and discrimination.
For countries that do not have a policy regarding pregnant students and teenage mothers, adopt a policy that fully respects the government’s human rights obligations and emphasizes the autonomy of girls in decision-making.
Ratify the Maputo Protocol and implement Articles 9, 10, 17 and 19, which emphasize girls’ autonomy in decision-making processes.
Update existing reintegration policies for student mothers to ensure they meet international human rights standards that protect the right to primary and secondary education for pregnant girls and teenage mothers; and monitoring compliance with the policy by schools.
In line with the AU Strategy for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, ensure that students who are mothers have access to adequate financial and social support to complete their education, including access to childcare and social welfare subsidies.
Focus on preventing teenage pregnancy by ensuring that:
all students have access to comprehensive sexuality education in line with international standards ; and
all children and young people have confidential access to comprehensive, adolescent-friendly sexual and reproductive health information and services, including safe and legal abortion, modern forms of contraception, and information on rights in matters of sexual and reproductive health, without the forced involvement of parents.
Repeal penal code provisions making consensual sex and other offenses against “ morality ” a criminal offence.
Set the minimum age of marriage at 18 for both men and women without exception.
To the African Union
Develop a human rights-compliant “ continuation model policy ” and guidelines that establish structures to ensure access to education for pregnant students and teenage mothers.
Urge all AU members to end discrimination on the basis of pregnancy in schools and the abuses associated with it.
Encourage governments to:
adopt policies that allow pregnant students to stay in school as long as they wish and that do not prescribe rigid mandatory leave after childbirth; and
invest in the implementation, monitoring and enforcement of existing school policies.
To the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) and the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC)
Conduct a regional study on the state of education of pregnant, married and parenting students.
Building on the 2018 Joint General Comment on Ending Child Marriage, issue guidance focused on legal obligations to provide equal education to girls and women, including those who are pregnant or mothers, without discrimination .
Urge governments to repeal laws and policies that discriminate against pregnant girls and teenage mothers, including criminal laws that impose criminal prosecution for sex outside marriage.
Monitor governments’ compliance with the implementation of policies to support the education of pregnant and married girls, and adolescent mothers in governments’ reviews under relevant human rights instruments.
Source: Human Rights Watch