Married Maasai teen juggling school and childrearing
What you need to know:
- When Naserian – not her real name – got pregnant last year, her parents forced her to get married to her boyfriend.
- She affirms that she was taken through female circumcision at a tender age and can’t remember when.
- Her age mates at school are always curious to find out how she manages to balance marriage life and the voluminous assignments at the same time.
When Rhoda – not her real name – got pregnant last year, little did she know she would end up being married off at the age of 16.
When President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered closure of learning institutions on March 15 last year, Rhoda was in Form Three.
When she, unfortunately got pregnant, the teenager’s parents forced her to get married to her boyfriend. After a prolonged tussle, she obliged. What lingered in her mind, however, was whether her quest for education would be diminished.
When Nation.africa catches up with Rhoda at her husband’s house in Chumvi village, Mukogodo Ward in Laikipia North Constituency, she is breastfeeding her seven-month-old baby while handling other house chores.
“I didn’t want to get married before completing my education but my parents forced me. I conceived at my husband’s home. Marriage life is difficult but I have been trying my best. I have been encountering difficulty in balancing between studies and my marriage,” she says, says Rhoda who has since gone back to school.
“When schools were opening in January, I requested my parents-in-law to allow me to forge ahead with my education and, to my surprise, they agreed open-heartedly. Now, my aspiration is to become a teacher and help children in pursuing their dreams,” she adds.
Rhoda affirms that she was taken through female circumcision at a tender age and can’t remember when.
"Sometimes I find myself struggling to write my assignments while the baby demands to be breastfed at the same time. I end up sleeping late," she says.
"I am obliged to wake up very early to ensure breakfast is ready for my husband and that the baby has enough food before leaving him under the care of my mother-in-law,” she says, confirming how grateful she is to her mother-in-law for the support.
Voluminous assignments
Her husband, who completed his secondary education in 2019, has been jobless but supports with some of the home chores like grazing livestock.
"My husband doesn't have a job but has been supportive. It has not been easy for us but we are managing," she says.
Her age mates at school are always curious to find out how she manages to balance marriage life and the voluminous assignments at the same time.
"Well, my colleagues have learned to cope up with my situation though a few tell me they are afraid of being married off by their parents. Some students pity me but I am soldiering on," Rhoda says.
“There might be many other teenage girls out there facing the same plight as mine. If they happen to get an opportunity to study, they should utilise it to better their future,” she says.
Despite the odds, Rhoda has recorded fair performance in her studies and eyes to emerge one of the top students in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE).
Ms Esther Kuraru, a community crusader for girls’ rights, says efforts to curb cases of child marriages and pregnancies have been entangled by deep entrenchment of oppressive Maasai cultural practices in the community.
Ms Kuraru says stakeholders – who include the police, Judiciary, the national government, community policing and children department – have done little to curb the practices that have enslaved the community over the years.
“There are many unreported cases of teenage pregnancies and marriages that have occurred during this Covid-19 pandemic. Little or no action has been taken against the perpetrators,” she says.
The activist argues that the community has been sceptical about reporting the oppression meted on girls.
“These practices should be stopped because they have shuttered dreams of many teenage girls. Women in the society know what has been going on but are so secretive on the information,” Ms Kuraru says.
Data from the Ministry of Health shows Laikipia County has recorded 27.1 per cent of pregnant teenagers. Laikipia North has recorded 57.4 per cent.
Laikipia West and East have recorded 24.7 per cent and 15.1 per cent respectively.
Maasai girls are usually circumcised from the age of 11 to 13 and are, henceforth, married off to a man chosen by their father, in exchange for a herd of livestock.
Some community members cling onto their culture with the belief that educating a woman would enable her to know her rights and precipitate her confidence to stand up for them.
Most of the girls in the community abandon school after getting married at a tender age. They are circumcised and discouraged from pursuing education and instead concentrate marriage.
