Non-government organization Sharis Haburas Communidade (SHC) has challenged the government to fast track a policy which would assure the rights of young mothers to access formal education.
SHC director Sabina Fernandes Seac said a policy would legally compel schools to accept young mothers.
“We call on National Parliament and in particular the Women’s Parliamentary Group and the Education Ministry to introduce a policy which would protect the rights of young mothers to access education,” she said.
Young women who were denied education faced bleak futures and long term unemployment, she said.
She added that Article 59 (4) says the State should ensure the access of every citizen to the highest level of education.
Secretary of State for the Promotion of Equality Idelta Maria Rodrigues said advocacy was needed to sway the thinking of ministers.
She said some teachers did not appreciate the importance of the right of women to re-enroll in school after giving birth as it had been long held in Timorese culture that this was not the case.
“This is an obstacle we need to overcome by raising awareness and changing the thinking of people in order to get children to return to school,” she said.
Teen pregnancy was sometimes a result of rape, she said.
Deputy Education Minister Dulce Maria de Jesus Soares acknowledged that there was no formal policy regarding the issue.
“Last year we managed to provide examinations for many people,” she said.
She said the Ministry was effort to raise awareness to the teachers in order to take action on the issue because the children also had the right to access to education.
