This is a complex subject and it certainly begs many questions.
By Ofentse Morwane
There is something disturbing and dreadfully wrong about this growing trend. The alarming rate of teenage pregnancy is certainly not what we want as a country.
The revelation this week that 23 226 school-going adolescents fell pregnant in Gauteng between April last year and March this year should scare us out of our wits. Youth girls continue to be pregnant at unacceptably high rates in the country.
Shocking and disappointing is that some of them are as young as 10 and that young girls between 10 and 19 terminated their pregnancies. The picture is the tip of the iceberg as these statistics only relate to Gauteng. The nature and extent of the problem is a matter of conjecture. It needs serious and urgent attention.
This is a complex subject and it certainly begs many questions.
South Africans generally are often quick to point a finger at the government for everything. This time around, it would be unjustifiable.
Parents, families, and men of this country should be asking themselves questions.
The degenerating state of our nation’s morality has been laid bare. Our society has de-generated to a point that questions our value systems and moral values. We are dismally failing to instil a sense of pride and discipline. Shame on us.
We have degenerated into a moral slum. Many people that we have labelled prophets of doom have for a very long time said that we are sitting on a moral time bomb.
This is a contentious issue that has put parenting under the spotlight. The role of parents and families in the development of mental, social, and physical development of their children has come under serious scrutiny. It has become questionable seeing children display negative social behaviour in this manner.
There are a lot of reasons why this crisis should bother us. South Africa has an elaborate prevalence of the HIV/Aids pandemic. The alarming rate of teenage pregnancy rate will not help our cause in the fight against this pandemic. To these teenagers, it is business as usual.
There is no doubt that teenage pregnancy remains a serious social and health problem in South Africa.
It poses a health risk to both mother and child and it also has social consequences such as continuing a cycle of poverty and early school dropout.
It has become increasingly important that parents, guardians, and the different stakeholders should work with government departments to assist in curbing teenage pregnancy. The need for young girls to be schooled about teenage pregnancy and preventative measures has become more imperative than ever.
We need to balance the equation. Young boys also need to be continuously cautioned about engaging in early and unprotected sex. Men are contributing to this problem as older men are lately dating young girls. It all boils down to parenting. The need for our active involvement as parents in the development of our children has become more critical.
Morwane writes in his personal capacity