Human rights groups are continuing to pressure the Tanzanian government to stop barring pregnant students from attending school. The ban discriminates against young, pregnant girls, and it punishes them for a choice they didn’t necessarily make themselves. With more pressure from various activist groups and an international spotlight, perhaps the government will finally see reason.

In 2017, President John Magufuli decreed that “as long as [he’s] president, no pregnant student will be allowed to return to school… after getting pregnant, you are done.” This statement reinforced the outdated law from the 1960s that allows public schools to deny young mothers their education. In 2013, the Center for Reproductive Rights estimated that 55,000 students were banned from going to school in the past decade on the basis of their pregnancy. Without a supportive president, many more girls are being denied their right to learn.

Early this week, a group of human rights organizations formally filed a complaint against the ban to the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child; the coalition included the Legal and Human Rights Centre and the Center of Reproductive Rights. The complaint highlights how the government needs to fulfill all children’s equal right to education, no matter their personal background.

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The ban is harmful to Tanzanian girls because many are being punished for a choice that they didn’t make themselves. Young girls who were raped are already going through the emotional and physical trauma of it, and they are further reminded of their harrowing experience by being denied an education. Private and vocational schools are not subject to the ban, but most cannot afford the privilege of private education and there aren’t enough NGOs to accommodate the demand for schooling.

There’s a long way to go, but continuous pressure from local and international groups could change the Magufuli administration’s mind. In 2018, the World Bank withheld a $300 million loan intended for the improvement of secondary school education due to the ban. Until Tanzanian schools stop routinely expelling pregnant girls, international aid from big organizations will cease. There’s no justifying the perpetuation of the stigma, discrimination, and poverty of young girls who just want to learn.

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