I didn’t plan to be a mother before I finished school. But when it happened, everything changed, especially the way people looked at me.’ Teenage motherhood isn’t just a headline or a statistic in Zimbabwe, but it’s a human story of resilience, interrupted dreams, and often, unmet rights. In Masvingo Urban, adolescent girls who become mothers frequently face overwhelming challenges, ranging from school dropout and financial hardship to social stigma and lack of SRHR support.
Despite progressive language in national policies, many adolescent mothers report being excluded from youth-friendly health services due to age, marital status, or judgmental attitudes. SRHR should not disappear after pregnancy; it should expand to include antenatal care, contraceptive options post-delivery, mental health support, and
While Zimbabwe has supportive frameworks like the Education Amendment Act (2020), which protects the right of pregnant girls to stay in school, implementation remains uneven. There is a need for targeted support systems for young mothers, economic empowerment opportunities, and non-judgmental healthcare providers trained in adolescent SRHR.
Teenage mothers are often excluded from both youth and adult SRHR programming. But to create truly inclusive systems, we must center their voices, understand their realities, and advocate for responsive policies that meet them where they are, not where society thinks they should be. When we discuss issues surrounding SRHR, teenage mothers shouldn’t be the forgotten demographic. They are the frontline of unmet need.
