By Serjevah Davis writing for The Progress Network
Tanzania’s president, Samia Suluhu Hassan, has ended the country’s long policy of tossing pregnant girls out of school and banning their return.
The policy resulted in reports of school officials conducting pregnancy tests to root out pregnant students. But years of campaigning by human rights organizations convinced President Hassan to announce in November 2021 that the ban would be lifted. And In doing so, it becomes the penultimate African nation to allow girls, often coerced into pregnancy, to continue their education.
From the article,
Poverty is a major driver of child marriage throughout Tanzania. Families with limited income struggle to provide basic necessities for their children. The bride price parents receive for their daughter’s marriage provides quick relief. But the damaging long-term effects simply perpetuate a vicious cycle of poverty: marrying young, dropping out of school, having children, and then pressuring their children to do the same.