Editor, RE: “Fighting teen pregnancies is a collective responsibility” (The New Times, October 26). Curiosity, lack of sex education, and mainly the vicious cycle of poverty today, are the major factors that lead to teen pregnancies in Rwanda. Who is then to blame? In my personal view, I think that both child and parents are to blame but we should also blame the Rwandan society. In the olden days parents made sure their teenage daughters were well protected and educated on the issues of sex, so as not to bring any form of disgrace to the family, in case of pre-marital sex. A respectful girl felt delighted to be chaste, and that gave her better prospects of having a husband, and gain the respect of her family, the community and her peers. However, things seem to have changed now, due to technology and modernity. It appears that modernity, through western culture, has turned round to corrupt the traditional culture in African countries, including Rwanda. The child is barely monitored at home, and even exposed to all kinds of movies and television programmes which are not suitable for them. Life in the modern society has a big role to play in the occurrences of teenage pregnancies of late. Gone are the days when parents were so dedicated in raising up their children, that they were so much interested in protecting their children from disgrace and protecting them from any activity that would destroy their future. Today, the situation is not the same, as many parents dedicate the greater part of their day to finding money to take care of the home. Both the husband and wife have no time in even taking care of the child. The majority of parents today concentrate on the financial needs of the child, rather than the emotional and sex educational needs. Many parents of today ignore their responsibility of educating the child sexually, but always leave it in the hands of their teachers. This makes the children fall into hands of men who have difficulty in controlling their libidos, so in the end give these girls help in exchange for their bodies. Rampant poverty leads some girls into giving out their bodies in exchange for a fee. In the end, who is then to blame? For sure the blame should be directed to the child, to parents and to Rwanda society as a whole. Rosemary
