Photo Anadolu Agency

A 14-year-old mother in her school uniform was breastfeeding her 4-month-old in a small room at Nabidde Primary School in eastern Uganda.

According to government directives, all schools must provide a dedicated space for teenage mothers and pregnant students, as official data shows that over 650,000 teenage schoolgirls have given birth during their two-year absence from schools due to COVID-19 restrictions.

During the 2021 lockdown, over 32,000 teenage pregnancies were registered on average per month in Uganda, according to UN Population Fund research. The data includes underage marriages, which are prohibited by law, as well as rape victims.

Two primary students are mothers, and three are expecting, according to Yona Kakaire, the headmaster of Nabidde. A small room off the staff room is provided for breastfeeding at any time, and pregnant students are encouraged to use it if they feel tired.

Face-to-face education restarted in the country on Jan. 10, but despite the government's encouragement, some students who became mothers during the two-year hiatus are refusing to return.

When all schools reopened, President Yoweri Museveni ordered that the girls' schools designate a special room. The government, he said, encourages adolescent mothers to pursue their education.

Teenage mother attends school

One of the teenage mothers, Justine, chose to complete her primary education at Nabidde Primary School. (We have changed her name to protect her privacy.)

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, she said: “A part-time worker at our next-door neighbor's house got me pregnant. He enticed me with 10,000 shillings (about $2.6) and then impregnated me. He fled the village after realizing that he had made me pregnant."

She returned to her classroom after breastfeeding her baby.

According to the headmaster, the girl's home is close to the school. Her baby is usually left at home with her mother and younger sibling. When the baby needs to be breastfed, the sister takes her to the school's designated room, Kakaire added.

Some shy about returning to class

Reports from across the country say many schools face a similar predicament. Children in rural areas are the most affected because, unlike in cities, they can freely travel from one location to another.

Herbert Ntende, the headmaster of Kigge Primary School in the eastern Kamuli district, met with parents of students who became pregnant during the lockdown.

After the meeting, he informed Anadolu Agency that the school has nine pregnant students and four mothers, two of whom have twins and have not returned to school.

He said four of the girls returned to school on Jan. 10, and the fifth on Jan. 17.

The other girl students were adamant that they would not return. However, he added, a local NGO is encouraging pregnant students to return to school.

He said the school has also assigned a senior woman teacher who is always available to help the girls if they have any problems or complications before going to their classes, and that these students are helped to be psychologically prepared through counseling before receiving face-to-face education.

They also teach other students at the school how to treat pregnant classmates and not to offend them, he added.

Government, parental support

Christopher Bakaki, an Education Ministry official, said: "It is unfortunate that many teenage girls got pregnant. We have advised headteachers to ensure that the teenage mothers get adequate guidance and counseling."

The minister of state for higher education, Crystom Muyingo, said in an interview with local media: "There is a need to give such girls a second chance. The fact that they got pregnant does not mean that they stop going to school."​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ - Godfrey Olukya, Anadolu Agency

 (AP Photo/Sophie Garcia) SOPHIE GARCIA AP OUAGADOUGOU

Protestors take to the streets of Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou, protesting the government's inability to stop jihadist attacks spreading across the country and calling for President Roch Marc Christian Kabore to resign. BURKINA FASO Mutinous soldiers seized control of a military base in Burkina Faso's capital Sunday, raising fears of a coup attempt in the West African nation as gunfire rang out for hours amid growing frustration with the government's handling of the Islamic insurgency.

The apparent mutiny came one day after the latest public demonstration calling for President Roch Marc Christian Kabore's resignation. On Sunday, security forces used tear gas to disperse crowds seeking to publicly support the mutineers and crowds vandalized a building occupied by the president's political party.

Defense Minister Aime Barthelemy Simpore told state broadcaster RTB that a few barracks had been affected by unrest not only in the capital of Ouagadougou but in “some cities" elsewhere too. He denied, however, that the president had been detained by the mutineers, even though Kabore's whereabouts remained unknown. “Well, it’s a few barracks.

There are not too many,” Simpore said. “In some of these barracks, the calm has already returned. So that’s it for the moment. As I said, we are monitoring the situation.” A news headline on the state broadcaster described the gunfire as “acts of discontent by soldiers." 

 “Contrary to some information, no institution of the republic has been targeted," the headline continued. At the Lamizana Sangoule military barracks in the capital, however, angry soldiers shot into the air Sunday, directing their anger over army casualties at the president. About 100 motorcycles later left the base, chanting in support of the mutineers, but were stopped when security forces deployed tear gas.

The soldiers put a man on the phone with The Associated Press who said that they were seeking better working conditions for Burkina Faso's military amid the escalating fight against Islamic militants. Among their demands are increased manpower in the battle against extremists and better care for those wounded and the families of the dead. The mutinous soldiers also want the military and intelligence hierarchy replaced, he said.

There were signs Sunday that their demands were supported by many in Burkina Faso who are increasingly distressed by the attacks blamed on al-Qaida and Islamic State-linked groups. Thousands have died in recent years from those attacks and around 1.5 million people have been displaced. “We want the military to take power,” said Salif Sawadogo as he tried to avoid tear gas on the streets of Ouagadougou. “Our democracy is not stable.”

Indigenous Affairs Weekly roundup of news affecting Native American communities in the Northwest.  Policy and Terms of Service apply. Kabore first took office in 2015, winning the election held after longtime President Blaise Compaore was ousted in a popular uprising. Still, Kabore has faced growing opposition since his reelection in November 2020 as the country's Islamic extremism crisis has deepened.

Last month he fired his prime minister and replaced most of the Cabinet, but critics have continued calling for his resignation. The sound of gunfire at a military barracks sparked particular alarm after a spate of military coups in West Africa over the past 18 months, causing the regional bloc known as ECOWAS to suspend two member states simultaneously for the first time since 2012. In August 2020, a mutiny at a Malian military barracks led to the democratically elected president being detained.

He later announced his resignation on national television, and the junta leader there doesn't want new elections for four more years. In September 2021, Guinea's president also was overthrown by a military junta that remains in power to this day. ___ Associated Press writer Krista Larson in Dakar, Senegal, contributed./The Bellingham Herald