The Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Thulisile Dladla has raised concern that parents and guardians are concealing pregnancies involving underage girls, making it difficult for authorities to intervene early and pursue justice against perpetrators.
This follows growing concern from the Ministry of Health after Senior Midwife Lindiwe Shongwe revealed that children as young as 14 years were increasingly giving birth at Mbabane hospitals across the country.
Shongwe said teenage mothers now accounted for about 14% of all deliveries at Mbabane Government Hospital alone, a figure she described as deeply worrying.
She disclosed that on Christmas Day, a 14-year-old girl gave birth to twins at the same facility. Days later, on New Year’s Day, another 14-year-old girl delivered a baby at the Raleigh Fitkin Memorial (RFM) Hospital, further highlighting the escalating problem of child pregnancies in the country.
The DPM said failure by parents and guardians to report cases of sexual abuse and teenage pregnancies was making it difficult for government to act timeously.
She said in many cases, authorities only became aware of such incidents through hospital records when minors gave birth, by which time crucial evidence and opportunities for early intervention are lost.
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Dladla said the rate at which young girls were giving birth was worsening and described the situation as alarming. She stressed that government could not address the problem alone without the cooperation of families.
“We need parents to report these incidents so that we can take them up. When pregnancies are hidden, it becomes difficult to follow up and pursue cases,” she said.
Dladla further stated that the law needed to be firmer in dealing with such crimes, noting that many suspects were easily released on bail, a situation she said emboldened offenders.
She said there was a need for sentences that set a strong precedent, citing the case of a man who was sentenced to more than 40 years for raping his daughter as an example of decisive justice.
Dladla said progress could only be achieved through collaboration between parents, the police and courts.
She added that the challenge of teenage pregnancies and sexual abuse of minors was not unique to Eswatini, sharing that she had discussed the issue with her South African counterpart and had also encountered similar challenges.
She said she also attended a children-related conference in Colombia where she learnt that other countries were faced with the same problem.
She condemned the violation of young girls, stating that growth happened in stages and that children were not physically or emotionally ready for motherhood.
Dladla urged parents to be vigilant, to always know where their children were, who they were with and to ensure that they slept at home.
She also warned parents against trusting anyone with their children, noting that cases of sexual abuse within families were on the rise.
She appealed for collective action to protect young girls from early and forced motherhood
