Girl who gave birth at 13 rescued from second marriage
Tharaka Nithi Woman Representative Susan Ngugi. She led local administrators in rescuing a 15-year-old Form One girl who had been married off.
What you need to know:
- Tharaka Nithi Woman Representative Susan Ngugi led the area chief and assistant chief in Tuesday’s rescue operation.
- The first case was handled by elders and the two families involved and never reported to the authorities.
A 15-year-old student who gave birth when she was 13 was Tuesday rescued from a second marriage in the Gantaraki area of Maara in Tharaka Nithi.
After giving birth while in Class Seven, the girl was saved from early marriage and taken back to school by her parents but recently dropped out again in Form One, then married off to a 19-year-old man.
Woman Representative Susan Ngugi, who led the area chief and assistant chief in Tuesday’s rescue operation, noted that the first case was handled by elders and the two families involved and never reported to the authorities.
“The 15-year-old Form One girl was recently married to another man, different from the one who impregnated her at the age of 13,” said Ms Ngugi.
The man escaped the police dragnet, but their mothers were arrested and taken to Chogoria Police Station to face charges of marrying off a teenager.
Ms Ngugi expressed her disappointment with the village elder for reportedly informing the suspect that there was a planned arrest, thus enabling him to disappear.
She said the mother of the suspect had also lied to them that the girl was not at her home but upon search, police found her hiding under the bed.
Family planning
The legislator noted that upon interrogation, the girl revealed that her mother had already taken her to a health facility and enrolled her for a family planning programme.
Ms Ngugi vowed to continue fighting teenage pregnancies, early marriages and female genital mutilation, among other harmful cultural norms and problems stifling girls’ empowerment.
“I am ready to lose my job in the next election for fighting for the rights of girls,” she said.
Immediately after her election, Ms Ngugi, who is serving her first term, launched Susan Mwindu Rescue Services that benefit survivors of gender-based violence and patients who cannot go to hospital because of poverty.
She also launched a back-to-school initiative for teenage mothers who dropped out because of pregnancy but are willing to resume studies. About 10 girls have benefitted so far.
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