Students at Kigali Health Institute on Wednesday held a debate on who, between men and women, are more affected by consequences associated with unwanted pregnancies.The debate, organised by the gender club, was held to sensitise students about the many challenges caused by unwanted pregnancies, according to Marie Chantal Numukobwa, the president of the club.She said there were many university girls getting pregnant while not ready for motherhood.“Through such debates, the students will become more responsible after realising how devastating and big the challenges of unwanted pregnancies are. We don’t expect students who attend such debates to be victims of unwanted pregnancies,” Numukobwa stated.Sandrine Ingabire, a third year physiotherapy student, said that usually, women are more affected than the men who impregnant them in cases of unwanted pregnancies.She said that women are usually faced with emotional distress and trauma, especially if the man is not supportive, while the men involved will happily go about with their lives.Ingabire urged women to abstain until they are ready for pregnancy or use contraceptives to avoid suffering the consequences of unwanted pregnancies.She added that women should bear in mind that men do not like getting married to women who have already given birth, arguing that such pregnancies can only frustrate their chances of a happy marriage. Jean Claude Hakizimana, a fourth year physiotherapy student also cautioned men not get involved in situations that would lead them to bring about unwanted pregnancies.“Men are usually arrested if they fail to take care of the child. Even if both parties are involved, penalties are usually in favour of the woman, so men should be extra careful,” he said.The Human Resource Manager of KHI, Leonald Kagemanyi, called upon students to intensify preventive measures through discussions on such issues and implementing sex education in schools, citing that some students are also ignorant about sex education.He added that the challenges of unwanted pregnancies affect men and women equally, calling on both parties to act responsibly.
