• Mwachausa said some of the girls are raped, married off early and impregnated, while others are abused verbally or touched inappropriately.
• Kwale is among the coastal counties that have a large percentage of youth addicted to drugs.
Image: SHABAN OMAR
Image: SHABAN OMAR
A youth group in Kwale is using art to fight teenage pregnancy and gender-based violence.
Samba Sports Youth Agenda partnership adviser Mohammed Mwachausa said 79 per cent of schoolgirls in the region have gone through different types of GBV.
He said some of the girls are raped, married off early and impregnated, while others are abused verbally or touched inappropriately.
Mwachausa said this has resulted in hundreds of girls dropping out of school and some losing their lives while trying to abort pregnancies.
He spoke on Sunday while launching a play called the Video Assistant Referee Call (VAR) at Kombani Social Hall in Matuga.
The VAR Call is an emotional movie play portraying the tragedy of a young girl engulfed in domestic tension, neglect and the allure of freebies.
Mwachausa said the purpose of the VAR Call is to sensitise the community and stakeholders on the pain and suffering inflicted on girls and young women through GBV.
"The play is to assist stakeholders to reflect and zoom in on the problems and possible solutions," he said.
Mwachausa said for a while stakeholders have been using approaches that have become less effective over time.
He said it is time to come up with new ways of subduing GBVs and teenage pregnancies.
The rights defender said the VAR Call play provides an urgency in putting an end to gender-based violence.
"The VAR Call shouts to the community and stakeholders that our normal way of handling issues of child protection has failed, and the VAR is needed to stop it," Mwachausa said.
He said the play gives a clear picture of the GBV happening every day within the communities and the magnitude of the damage they have on the future generation.
Mwachausa said using the format of soccer, the VAR will be able to bring all referees on board to review and offer affirmative suggestions that will enhance fair justice for the victims of GBV.
The play is done by Shades of Samba, an art troupe under Samba Sports Youth Agenda sponsorship.
Mwachausa said the play is expected to tame drug and substance abuse and instil discipline among youth.
Kwale is among the coastal counties that have a large percentage of youth addicted to drugs.
Bhang, muguka, tobacco, miraa, heroin and cocaine are some of the commonly abused drugs.
Mwachausa said through acting, the youth can nurture and sharpen their talents for commercial shows, hence strengthening their resilience to join criminal gangs.
"We are also taking the play as part of an income-generating activity that will help our youth get something to sustain themselves," he said.
County director of youth Kent Simiyu said the VAR Call play will assist parents in improving their parental responsibilities.
He said teen pregnancy and indiscipline cases are surging because parents have failed in their responsibilities.
Simiyu said most parents do not monitor their children's behaviour and take no action to correct them.
"You realise parents receive money from girls without questioning them and this would later lead to unwanted pregnancies," he said.
Recently, the county released data showing that teenage pregnancies have reduced to 17.2 per cent from 39.8 per cent recorded in 2016.