Challenges of Single Teenage Mothers in Nigeria

Being a single mother in Nigeria is bad enough but being an unmarried teenage mother is worse. Every Nigerian parent's nightmare is to have an unwed daughter at 30 and above, but what can drive them totally crazy is, when their teenage daughter (still in secondary school) comes home and announces that she is pregnant and she cannot say precisely who the father of the child is.

Many Nigerians have disowned pregnant teenage daughters (and these are daughters that know the father of their child!). Nigerians do not like being gossiped about, they'll rather gossip about someone than have people gossip about them. Having an unwed 30 year old daughter is something neighbours would enjoy gossiping about, but having a teenage pregnant daughter? You will not only be gossiped about, you and your pregnant daughter will be the butt of every pregnant joke!

These are some of the challenges teenage mothers face in Nigeria

Teenage mothers are often socially ostracized, because every parent in the neighbourhood will tag a teenage mother as "bad news." Some parents will warn their daughters and sons to steer clear of that "ashewo (prostitute)" because they fear that their kids might be corrupted by the immoral ways of a teenage mother.

Teenage mothers are usually not respected by men, because most Nigerian men believe that anyone who is silly enough to get pregnant in her teens must be sexually loose, stupid and ill bred. They would always see you as a means of sexually gratifying themselves and would not give a second thought about you when they have satisfied their urge.

Teenage mothers are often judge by the society; they perceive her as not serious, careless and an immoral person. They would often aim mean spirited gossip at teenage mothers and their parents. They would bad-mouth her person to complete strangers or interested suitors. If any man shows interest in wooing her (especially when she is in her 20's), most people will discourage the man and tell him things like "do you know she had a baby in her teens? No one knows who the father of the baby is. Please look around, because there are other decent girls in the community"

Single teenage mothers never live down their mistake, because there is always someone somewhere reminding them of what they did in their past.

Some teenage girls are not allowed to finish their education because some parents will say that the girl should stay back and raise her child (it is your mess, clean it!).

Most Nigerians are quite conservative; the society believes that it is a parent's duty to protect the female child from defilement, and if your daughter gets pregnant without being married, you have failed in your duty as a responsible parent(s).

There are several cases where young boys deny the paternity of their unborn babies, they accuse the girl of sleeping around and most people believe them because conservative Nigerians believe that no decent secondary school girl should be having sex in the first place.