The first lady also the minister for education and sports, Janet Kataha Museveni has challenged religious and cultural leaders to break the cycle of teenage pregnancy and early marriage in communities.
Speaking during the commemoration of international day for girl child, Janet noted that if it means to arrest family members that have continue to marrying off children, should start now.
"Africa cannot continue in this direction where girls are being married off below 18 years.’’ Janet said. She noted that marrying off children at early age will contribute the creation of families that have no future.
She said cultural and religious leaders must be at the forefront in fighting early marriages and each priest or bishop should consider condemning early marriages whenever they are preaching word of God to believers in their respective churches or mosques.
Speaking at the same event, the UN resident coordinator Rosa Amalong has noted that the United Nations will continue to support the fight against girls up to the level where all communities in Uganda are declared early marriage free zones. She however expressed the concern over the high prevalence rates of HIV/aids among adolescents due to early marriages.
At the same commemoration, a section of girls called up on the government to track those schools that are not implementing the school re-entry policy for pregnant girls and young mothers as a way of addressing gender gaps in the education sector. The girls led by Nalumansi Faridah a 20 year old and a mother of two noted that many girls , who drop out of school due to pregnancy, are victimized by schools, fellow pupils and communities adding that the implementation of a re-entry policy would go a long way in improving retention levels for girls in schools.
Until recent years, the policy in government was that pregnant girls should be expelled from schools. However, this revised in 2009 with a directive allowing students to go back to school especially those in candidate classes to sit their final examinations.
Despite the policy being put in place, girls are still subjected to expulsion and suspension as a disciplinary measure to deter others from getting pregnant.
Since 2012, the United Nations marks 11 October as the ‘International Day of the Girl Child’. The day promotes girls' human rights, highlights gender inequalities that remain between girls and boys and addresses the various forms of discrimination and abuse suffered by girls around the world.