The Minister of Social Development in South Africa, Lindiwe Zulu, has called for urgent intervention and unity across political parties to address the alarming issue of teenage pregnancy, as 90,000 schoolgirls aged 10 to 19 fell pregnant in 2023. The figures were presented in a report tabled in Parliament before the Multi-Party Women’s Caucus.
Zulu expressed shock at the statistics and emphasized that the fight against teenage pregnancy cannot be left to one sector alone. She urged women from different political parties to unite in combating this scourge, emphasizing the need for collaboration with families and communities.
In response to the report, Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) MP Zandile Majozi called for swift police action against those who sexually abuse girls, highlighting that some children giving birth were as young as 10 years old. The report revealed that 88,122 schoolgirls between 15 and 19 years old and 2,328 girls between 10 and 14 years old became pregnant during the year.
Deputy Minister of Small Business Development Dipuo Peters expressed shock at the pregnancies of 10-year-old girls, emphasizing that some abuses occur outside of school. The Department of Social Development requested support for its programs to address teenage pregnancy, stressing the importance of collective efforts to end this issue.
Acting Director-General in the Department of Social Development, Linton Mchunu, voiced concern about the increasing number of teenage pregnancies and highlighted that adults, not teenagers, were mostly responsible for impregnating young girls. Mchunu called for the law to be applied in the strongest forms to address statutory rape. The Department of Health is making interventions to fight the scourge, with efforts spanning various sectors.
In conclusion, the Multi-Party Women’s Caucus, activists, and government officials stressed the urgency of addressing the crisis, protecting the well-being of children, and implementing effective interventions to combat teenage pregnancy in South Africa.
