Over 200 girls drawn from vulnerable backgrounds at Aitong area in Narok West Sub County have benefited from sanitary towels given by a women group based in the area.
Naasisho women group gave over 2000 pieces of pads to girls below 20 years citing numerous cases of pregnancies reported in the area that occur when the young girls allegedly engage in sex-for money for pads with rich men to buy the towels.
Ms. Nalotuesha Sadera, the chairlady of the group said they have witnessed girls being impregnated by men who pretend to be helping them only to lure them into sexual acts and before long, the girls become pregnant.
“It is painful when we see our girls becoming young mothers at a tender age which compromises their standards of education. The issue is a thorn in the fresh as it increases poverty in the area instead of reducing it,” said Ms. Sadera.
She called on the government to help in buying sanitary towels for girls even during the holidays as some families live in abject poverty to afford the essential goods.
At the same time, the area Chief Daniel Tanki warned men who take advantage of vulnerable girls that their days were numbered as they will be arrested and prosecuted in court of law.
He said several men have been arrested and arraigned in court since March this year when schools were closed because of Covid-19 pandemic.
Narok Women Representative Soipan Kudate, who also has distributed thousands of pads to school girls in the county asked parents to take their role of mentoring their girls so that they cannot fall in the trap of engaging in premature sex.
She asked all the stakeholders in the county to be vigilant in protecting the young girls so that they can achieve their dreams.
“These issues of teenage pregnancies, FGM is ‘not news’ as they have been with us all along. This war cannot be won by a single person. That is why we want a combined effort with non-state actors to reduce it,” said Kudate.
She also blamed cultural believes for ignorance on sexual matters saying being a conservative community, speaking about sex was a taboo.
“We need to improve on our socialization. In our culture, rarely does one find a girl and her mother sit down to discuss matters pertaining sex and these are areas we need to improve on,” said Kudate.
According to the data released by the County Government in the month of October, about 5,500 girls in the county have fallen pregnant since the onset of Covid-19 pandemic in the month of March when schools were closed.
By Ann Salaton
