Dear JOhn,

Education changes lives. That’s why access to education is universally recognized as a basic human right.

When government policies arbitrarily deny girls these rights, we need supporters like you to stand with us to make a change.

55,000 girls in Tanzania have been expelled from school 

Over the last decade, 55,000 girls have been banned from school after becoming pregnant. The ban prohibits girls from accessing education, not just for the duration of their pregnancy but even after.

The reality of teenage pregnancy in Tanzania

Tanzania is among countries with the highest adolescent pregnancy and birth rates in the world, with 21 percent of girls aged 15 to 19 having given birth based on a 2015/16 survey by Tanzania’s own Bureau of Statistics.

Tanzania is failing adolescent girls

Even though Tanzania is bound by regional and international laws to protect girls and uphold their right to education and ensure their freedom from sexual violation, the sexual abuse and discrimination as regards education of adolescent girls remains largely unaddressed.

Will you stand with us to call on the government of Tanzania to lift the discriminatory ban against school-going pregnant girls and protect girls from sexual exploitation?

Thank you for your continued efforts to protect and promote the rights of women and girls across the world.

In solidarity,

Naitore Nyamu Mathenge
Program Officer, End Sexual Violence