Senegal's rising trend of teen pregnancy
Lack of education, unsupervised visits by older males, and superstition have all contributed.
LINGUEWAL, southern Senegal — During her pregnancy, 13-year-old Lama Sabaly would dream of someone crying, only to be shaken awake by her mother. The sobs she was hearing were always her own.
“I had a lot of thoughts running through my head, thinking about life,” Lama said. “I didn’t know what could make me pregnant. Only now do I know that being with a man gets you pregnant.”
In Lama's case, the man was married and in his 30s.
Lama lives in the Kolda region of southern Senegal which has impoverished villages known as strongholds of child marriage, where girls as young as 10 are given to men as brides. Though the practice is now largely declining, girls like Lama are part of an alarming, new trend rising from its ashes: teenage pregnancy.
Elementary school girls may not be married off, but they are still getting pregnant and health workers and families are struggling to cope.
“It’s wearing us out,” said community health volunteer Mahamadou Baldé, who runs the health post in Linquewal, a 600-person village, about 12 miles south of Vélingara.
“When a 13- or 16-year-old girl gets pregnant, she doesn’t have a husband. Her mother doesn’t have anything, her father either [and] the man, often a young man, who got her pregnant goes to Dakar. He leaves her all alone here.”
Despite youth talks he conducted, four girls in Linguewal's elementary school got pregnant last year, he said, shaking his head in discouragement.
Lama, now 14 and with a three-month-old son, was one of those four girls. She stayed in school, though most teen mothers drop out. She still dreams of going to university but is struggling to pass fifth grade.
Recent on Senegal:
Senegal seeks long-term solution to flooding
Anne Look - Senegal - November 4, 2009 07:06 ET
Families are being moved from flood-prone suburbs to a new settlement 15 miles east of Dakar.
Senegal seeks long-term solution to flooding
Anne Look - Senegal - November 4, 2009 07:06 ET
Families are being moved from flood-prone suburbs to a new settlement 15 miles east of Dakar.
Coup leader claims win in Mauritania poll
Anne Look - Senegal - July 28, 2009 05:48 ET
Opposition cries fraud, but moderate Muslim leader Aziz has popular support and is in charge.
.jpg)
Fighting malaria through pop music
Anne Look - Senegal - July 27, 2009 12:56 ET
Multimedia: Senegalese singing sensation Youssou N'Dour encourages families to sleep under mosquito nets.
Fighting malaria through pop music
Anne Look - Senegal - July 27, 2009 12:56 ET
Multimedia: Senegalese singing sensation Youssou N'Dour encourages families to sleep under mosquito nets.
Africa's moment?
Mort Rosenblum - Worldview - July 7, 2009 07:25 ET
Opinion: Hints of light in a not-so-dark continent
Senegal's rising trend of teen pregnancy
Anne Look - Senegal - June 22, 2009 21:16 ET
Lack of education, unsupervised visits by older males, and superstition have all contributed.
Malaria: One NGO worker's fight
William Dowell - Health - June 11, 2009 09:05 ET
Awa Marie Coll-Seck has spent years combating malaria.
Light and darkness on a Senegal island
Finbarr O'Reilly - Senegal - June 1, 2009 10:11 ET
The historic island of Goree, near the capital Dakar, has a shadowy past.
Senegalese women aim for political role
Anne Look - Senegal - May 24, 2009 14:10 ET
Female candidate tries to win election to represent her urban constituency.
Gays under threat in Senegal
Anne Look - Senegal - April 29, 2009 16:18 ET
Local youth leader: "The homosexuals will not escape lynching. They will be fish food."
Senegalese press: oppressed or out of control?
Anne Look - Senegal - April 29, 2009 14:05 ET
A proliferation of media outlets has even journalists questioning the quality of content.
Senegalese press: oppressed or out of control?
Anne Look - Senegal - April 29, 2009 14:05 ET
A proliferation of media outlets has even journalists questioning the quality of content.
Congo struggles to move from conflict to peace
Finbarr O'Reilly - Africa - April 8, 2009 13:30 ET
.jpg)
A step in the right direction for eastern Congo?
Finbarr O'Reilly - Africa - March 25, 2009 11:39 ET
Analysis: Arrest of one rebel leader shows a re-alignment of forces in the troubled region.
.jpg)
Senegal avoids human rights trial
Anne Look - Senegal - March 3, 2009 14:39 ET
Delays in trying ex-Chadian dictator Hissene Habre case reveal deeper problems
Senegal avoids human rights trial
Anne Look - Senegal - March 3, 2009 14:39 ET
Delays in trying ex-Chadian dictator Hissene Habre case reveal deeper problems
China's 'Little Africa' is under pressure
By Tom Mackenzie and Mitch Moxley - China and its neighbors - February 24, 2009 08:26 ET
African traders used to thrive but now are threatened by immigration authorities.
A continent revealed
Finbarr O'Reilly - Senegal - February 24, 2009 08:14 ET
Essay: A photographer strives for nuance
Watch GlobalPost videos:
Reporter's Notebook
Pan-Africanism now has its own board game. It's called Jekaben — which means "let's unite and decide together"...Read more >
As payment for my long absence from this notebook, I come bearing a gift . . . Binta and the Great Idea (2004) This short film...Read more >
The situation in Iran doesn’t seem to have sparked overwhelming interest in Dakar. Senegal is literally sandwiched by two contentious upcoming...Read more >
Featured: Special Projects
After the Fall:
20 years since the Berlin Wall came down
Life, Death and the Taliban:
Videos and stories
Study Abroad:
Students report from the road
Living in the Shadows:
An intimate look at China's migrant workers
A World of Trouble:
The global economy in 20 hotspots
Global Blogs:
Comments:
No Comments.
Login or Register to post comments