A group of university women students under the auspices of Girls Leadership Forum (GLF) have vowed to scale up campaigns against unwanted pregnancies among girls. At a workshop in Kigali on Tuesday, the young ladies decried the rampant unwanted pregnancies in universities and higher learning institutions. During the discourse, some participants cited poverty among the root causes of unwanted pregnancies. However, the varsity girl leaders debuted this angle, giving examples of girls from affluent families who still end up in the mess. Beatrice Kayitesi, the former leader of the University Women Students Association (UWSA) based at the National University of Rwanda, said a previous survey sampled on about 1,000 students came up with several causes of such pregnancies. “The main causes of pregnancies in universities included excitement from the transition from a tightly-controlled high school life to the care-free environment at the universities,” she said. On the fact that the many varsities girls get pregnant outside campuses, some forum members blame lack of emphasis on sexual education and reproductive health. Fatuma Ndangiza, the deputy chief executive of Rwanda Governance Board, said the forum is a basic platform and nursery to help the government nurture responsible women leaders. She pledged continued support and lobbying for GLF.
