Gulu, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Sheikh Musa Khalil, the Khadi of the Acholi Muslim district has called for the protection of young girls against teenage pregnancies and early marriages during the COVID-19 lockdown.
The Khadi decried the rampant cases of sexual abuses that were and are being meted on young girls within the Acholi sub region especially due to the restrictions aimed at containing the spread of the coronavirus disease in the country.
Among the abuses he named included teenage pregnancies, early marriages, defilement, rape and assault among others.
Sheikh Khalil was giving his homily message in Gulu city as Muslims celebrated the Eid al-Adha across the country.
He noted that it is the responsibility of everyone to ensure a safe and healthy and violent free environment for young girls instead of abusing them which instead ruins their future and the country at large.
Sheikh Khalil also urged parents and guardians to offer practical lessons and teach their children life skills at this time when all learning institutions have closed.
The cleric tasked parents and guardians to closely monitor the movement of their children and provide them with sexual education so that their minds are enriched with sexual literacy and how to always protect themselves against being victimized.
He explained that several of the culprits are taking advantage of the closure of schools and economic hardships arising from the lockdown to sexually exploit and abuse young girls.
A section of parents has lauded the Sheikh for denouncing abuses against young girls which they say had become rampant in the Acholi sub region especially due to the COVID-19 lockdown.
Bosco Acaye, a father of eight in Omoro district says that his seven school children are now back home following the closure of all learning institutions.
Acaye, who fears that his girls may be abused, is now engaging them in farming and jointly doing domestic works to keep them busy always.
Jessica Lalwayo, also a mother from Nwoya district has embarked on sensitizing her young girls on the dangers of early sex and also personally helping them to do revisions.
During the first lockdown last year, the Acholi sub-region registered more than 17,652 teen pregnancies and child marriages.
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