Seeking change, Sierra Leone school defies ban on pregnant girls. Read more:
FREETOWN - When Mariatu Sesay realized she was pregnant at 14, one thing scared her more than the social isolation she felt in the classroom: Sierra Leonean law banned her from attending school at all because she was expecting.
“They would call me names, laugh at me and try to tear at my uniform,” Sesay told Reuters, holding her now nine-month-old baby girl, Nadia, in her arms. The school, whose name Reuters is withholding at principal Conteh’s request, is the only one in Sierra Leone known to be allowing a pregnant girl to continue to attend classes, but pressure against the law is mounting.
Mariatu Sesay, 15, smiles as she carries her daughter Nadia while she walks outside her house in the countryside village of Sierra Leone July 11, 2019. REUTERS/Cooper InveenConteh said a regional education official visited the school when Sesay was late in her pregnancy but was so impressed by her success that he chose not to report her.
The ban in Sierra Leone was adopted in 2015 when teenage pregnancies rose amid the chaos of a massive Ebola outbreak, in part due to a surge in rapes.
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