• Jumwa urged local administrators to be alert and use the Nyumba Kumi initiative in tackling cases of teen pregnancy and early marriage.
• Oyagi said that more than 75 per cent of those on remand at the Kwale prisons are men facing various defilement cases.
Image: FILE
Gender CS Aisha Jumwa has raised the alarm over increased cases of teenage pregnancies and early marriages in parts of the Coast region.
Jumwa, who confessed to being a victim of early marriage, said the lives of young girls are destroyed by sex predators.
Jumwa said the rate at which schoolgirls are being impregnated is very alarming and heartbreaking and asked men to allow girls to finish their education.
She said many girls have dropped out of school due to pregnancy and are now shouldering the huge responsibility as young mothers.
“The increased cases of teen pregnancies are very painful. Some men have become beasts and lost their sense of humanity by going after our young girls,” she said.
"Leave our girls alone, wait for the right time otherwise you will get in trouble and have it rough with the law."
Jumwa spoke on Friday during the celebrations of the United Nations, Women Peace and Security at Msambweni police station in Kwale county.
Jumwa called for concerted efforts to end the vice, saying it has to be stopped at all cost.
The CS said her ministry is focused on reducing gender-based violence.
She urged local administrators to be alert and use the Nyumba Kumi initiative in tackling cases of teen pregnancy and early marriage.
Jumwa said the community needs to be sensitised against GBVs and educate them on the importance of protecting the girls and promoting their education.
"County commissioners and chiefs have a heavy task ahead. Let's go to the grassroots and help reduce these cases," she said.
Jumwa urged administrators and police to continue empowering women and girls to effectively participate in peace building, prevention and response to gender-based violence cases as well as protecting their rights.
Kwale county commissioner Gideon Oyagi said defilement and teen pregnancy cases are worrying in Kwale.
Oyagi said that more than 75 per cent of those on remand at the Kwale prisons are men facing various defilement cases.
"As administrators, we won't sit back and allow school children to perish in the hands of sex predators," he said.
Edited by A.N