Kafayat Olalekan
Sexual activities have become rampant among under aged girls, and now beginning to be acceptable among parents, with some resorting to putting their daughters on contraceptives to stop embarrassing developments.
Some parents have argued that it was better to arm developing girls with contraceptives, than to wait for stories that touch the hearts, like unintended pregnancies, abortions and unplanned for babies.
But then, how do parent bring up this subject matter with their children? A parent, Mrs. Enechojo Jeremiah, 35, said she was shocked speechless on the day her seven years old daughter returned from school and asked her what was sex?
She said: “I was shocked to tell you the truth. I asked her how she got to know or heard the word. She told me that they taught them sex education in school and that their teacher mentioned the word. I made her to understand that sex can be a gender; male or female. At first, I felt it was wrong to tell her that, but I really didn’t know what must have been going through her mind since she heard the word. If I don’t tell her, she will ask someone else, and you don’t know how safe she will be in the hands of that person.”
Jeremiah said that she seized the opportunity to quickly give her daughter orientation on sex, unwanted pregnancies and their consequences, which many girls sometimes never recovered from.
She continued “I used myself as an example because I am a single mom. She knows what we go through because her dad is not really playing his role. Life is somewhat tough for us. I hope she wouldn’t want to be like me.”
Results have shown that more teens make use of contraceptives when they have sex. Still most fail to use them correctly, resulting in unintended pregnancies.
The 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) reported that 15.6 percent of adolescent girls first had sexual intercourse by the age of 15 years, and 28.2 percent of women in this age range are in union, currently married or living together with a man as if married.
Furthermore, research shows that 30 percent of secondary school students are on various birth controls, including implant, Intrauterine Device (IUD), progestin injections, condoms, virginal ring and the morning pill, also known as the emergency pill. There’s a common and unsafe method which is called the withdrawal method. This is unsafe and could lead to pregnancy.
Some experts, who argued in favour of teenagers using contraceptives, said that most secondary school girls were sexually active anyway, so it was better to give them accurate and good sexual orientation, and put them on effective contraceptives. Moreover, teenagers, who are not adequately informed or educated about pregnancy prevention, or are only educated on abstinence, are more likely to become pregnant than those that are informed about contraception, stated experts.
A student of Marol High School, Senior Secondary School Class (SS2), Ipaja, Lagos State, who simply wished to be addressed as Bimpe, said: “I prefer the emergency pill because it’s very easy to get at pharmacies and easy to use. The only issue I have with this pill is that it changes my menstrual cycle, leaving me worried and sometimes wondering if I was pregnant or not. When I’m plagued with this anxiety, I rarely focus on my academics and it leaves me upset.”
Cheryl, a student of Abesan Grammar School, said: “I actually prefer the injection method because I live with my boyfriend and most of the time we have sex. So, instead of buying the drug all the time, I just go to the hospital for injections. The effects are it makes me fat and causes breakout of pimples on my face.”
Miss Bella, a worker at teenager foundation in Lagos, said: “I feel if the under aged are sexually active, then it is best they are put on contraceptives. It prevents unwanted pregnancies, abortions and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Although contraceptives may have their own side effects, it doesn’t affect reproductive organs. The side effects include menstrual changes, weight gain, and mood swing, amongst others.”
She further noted that the issue of minors using contraceptives could be curbed if sex education could be taught early in schools; when the pupils were at ages 12 and above. “It will help children to make decisions about their sexual lives. Most Nigerian parents won’t agree with their child having sex, let alone to use contraceptives,” said Bella.
Mrs. Seteolu Mariam, a mother of four, took to her Facebook wall to state: “Most times teens or adolescents get educated on STDs in school, often during Physical Health Education (PHE) classes. They talk about pregnancy prevention methods. Although some schools don’t know the importance of these lessons to students because they feel they should rather be educated by their parents, to avoid being embarrassed by the students.”
Dr. Ibukun of Agape Hospital said: “The most commonly used contraceptives among minors are condoms and the emergency pills. They use it because they are easy to access and use. Condoms are sold over the counters and they are sometimes distributed in schools. This is the most frequently used contraceptives by teens. In practice, condoms are among the poorest means to prevent pregnancy, but it is better than withdrawal methods.”
The puberty stage makes teenagers yearn to explore a lot of things. They often feel they are adult once they start growing pubic hair and then they want to start acting like adults. They want to have sex and they want to date. They want do everything in a rush.
Speaking on the issue, Dr. Ayo Oni said: “Schools should teach under aged people the effects of contraceptives, but should not encourage them to use it. Using contraceptives does not only damage the body, but the use of contraceptives and their availabilities, make girls to cultivate the habit of fornicating.”
Oni further stated that half of the country had already accepted minors’ rights to use contraceptives. This was even as he mentioned that some contraceptives like the control pills were not effective in preventing pregnancy.
Oni stated: “Contraceptives makes them to become wayward. A lot of young ladies have it in their minds that once they have had sex, they would use contraceptives. Sadly, some of them believed that using contraceptives can conquer all sexual infections, but little do they know that using contraceptives does not prevent them from contracting numerous types of infections.”
Oni continued: “Why are you having sex when you are not ready for the pregnancy? What is the fun in having sex at such an age? Again, why do you need contraceptives? Sex at that young age is fornication and religiously, it should not be encouraged. Only married couples are allowed to use contraceptives because they are joined together spiritually and emotionally. Young ladies, who are used to wayward lifestyles, are always having difficulty after they get married later in life and this is because they would always want to have sex, and may end up having sex with different men, and they are often prone to contracting STD.”
Oni further emphasised: “We shouldn’t be comparing the family planning system of Nigerian to those in foreign countries. What they do there as their culture, which we cannot condone here. Culturally, morally, spiritually, and religiously, it’s bad! Nigerians should embrace our culture and lifestyles.”
Educationalists suggest that a good team of counselors should be established in secondary schools to monitor the activities of students and to educate them on how to live a safe lifestyle. Parents are also expected to monitor the activities of their children and be open with them, so that these children will learn to confide and discuss freely with them.
First Published 2021
