In the making: constructing in-school pregnancy in Mozambique

Abstract

This article examines current in-school pregnancy policy in Mozambique, Decree 39/GM/2003, discussing how it discursively constructs in-school pregnancy as a problem, thereby raising the need to regulate its occurrence. Decree 39/GM/2003 indicates that pregnant schoolgirls should be transferred to night courses in order to complete their education. Although progressive in some respects, as it allows pregnant girls to remain in education, the Decree reflects a global tendency to see education and pregnancy as oppositional. As a consequence, the practical implications of transferring pregnant girls to night courses have the perverse effect of encouraging dropout. Stimulated by this contradiction, I reflect on how the policy text produces a deficit view of the pregnant schoolgirl. This Foucauldian process of subjectification results in a strengthening of the opposition between pregnancy and education. As a result, pregnant schoolgirls are 'thrown-out' of their education, defeating the inclusive aims of the national policy.

The prevalence of pregnancy among adolescent girls and young women across the Southern African development community economic hub: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…In Mozambique, Decree 39/ GM/2003 has been initiated where pregnant schoolgirls are initiated on extra mural studies in order to complete their education. 100 This review showed that DRC has the highest pregnancy rate, estimated at 62%: this correlates with the country's high birth rate. DRC is the highest populated country in SADC region and the 3rd populated country in sub Saharan Africa with an estimated population of over 80 million people and a fertility rate of 6.1% per woman.…”

A Study on the Challenges to Boys' Education in Sabie, Mozambique

“…By the second trimester during my second year of teaching, 11 students had dropped out, including 8 male students. My observations contradicted the general information about education in Mozambique, and Africa as a whole, that have reported girls with a higher dropout rate (Chazen, 2017;Salvi, 2018). Hence, my research questions were: a.…”

“…Since Sabie Secondary School does not offer night school, the boys are left with no choice but to drop out. Typically, research has focused on the girls' side of the unplanned pregnancies, but it has been shown that the situation affects the boys, as well (Salvi, 2018).…”

“…According to the UN children's agency Unicef, around half (48 percent) of Mozambican women marry before they turn 18 (Salvi, 2018). Furthermore, 46 percent of girls between the ages of 15 and 19 are either currently pregnant or already mothers.…”

“…If the father is an adolescent in school, chances are he will leave school, if he has not already, to try and provide for his new child. The villagers of Sabie are no exception and many live with these factors daily (Salvi, 2018).…”