By Kese Werugha
Kilifi County nominated Senator Christine Zawadi has raised the alarm over the escalating number of teenage pregnancies in the region.
She also cautioned parents against marrying off underage children during school holidays because of lust for money paid as dowries.
Addressing residents of Kilifi town at the CDF Hall, the Senator asked parents to take up responsibility of bringing up their daughters seriously.
Zawadi, who accompanied a local Muslim women leader and a former councilor of the defunct Kilifi Town Council Mama Hidaya Hassan, noted with concern that defilement, rape, incest and sodomy cases were being reported often at the police stations, pointing out that the vices deprived the victims of their bright future.
She said: “Child marriage is associated with lower levels of schooling for girls in the county and is also a barrier to the 2030 Millennium Development Goals”.
Zawadi lamented that the BodaBoda riders were mostly involved in girls dropping out of school after impregnating them.
