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Kisii County Woman Representative Dorice Aburi has encouraged parents to engage their children in productive activities during the upcoming April holidays to curb negative vices such as teenage pregnancies and FGM.
Speaking at an event dubbed Donya Charity Mission by the Woman Rep held at Bobaracho primary school’s grounds in Kisii Central Sub-County, Ms. Aburi noted that teenagers were not enlightened on gender-based violence (GBV) issues and could easily be taken advantage of during the school break.
“Our girls are not getting enough education on GBV and cases of early pregnancies and FGM still remain high in our region. As such, parents must take the responsibility of educating their children on these issues,” said the Woman Rep.
She challenged the parents to refrain from engaging the girls in outlawed activities such as female genital mutilation (FGM) and instead, support their academic journey to ensure they excel in school.
According to the 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, teenage pregnancy rate stands at 14 percent in Kisii and the county is among the counties with the highest numbers of pregnancies reported among girls aged between 10 and 19 years.
The report cites some of the causes of teenage pregnancies to include poverty, Sexual Gender-Based Violence, low levels of education, harmful cultural practices, and extended school closures.
The area MCA Ibrahim Ongubo (Bobaracho Ward) and his counterparts Ismael Matundura (Bogiakumu Ward) and Bouse Mairura (Masimba Ward) lauded the Woman Rep for her development initiatives.
“We are very proud that for the first time, the office of the Woman Rep is working closely with the MCAs, and we will continue to support such initiatives,” said Mairura.
During the event, thousands of residents also received food and clothing donations and benefited from a free medical camp courtesy of the office of the Woman Representative and its partners.