Introduction

In 2017, Martin Onyango joined the Center for Reproductive Rights with a simple goal. “[I] was inspired by the opportunity to serve the continent of Africa,” he says.    

Two years later the Center and a partner organization, the Legal and Human Rights Centre, sued the Tanzanian Government. Martin, the Center’s Associate Director of Africa Legal Strategies, led its legal team.  

He was well-positioned for the role. Years before, Martin had left commercial and parliamentary law behind to pursue a long-held interest in human rights. Joining the International Criminal Court, he had represented victims of international crimes committed in Kenya. It was here that he was drawn into the fight for sexual and reproductive rights. 

The Center’s case in Tanzania would seek to hold the government responsible for violating pregnant students’ rights. With major implications for the lives of girls across the country and the continent, it was the opportunity Martin had been looking for.  

A groundbreaking ruling

A groundbreaking ruling

The case was filed on behalf of six Tanzanian girls who had been expelled from public school. Their offense? Getting pregnant. 

This was not an isolated incident. Between 2003 and 2011, over 55,000 pregnant girls were expelled from or forced to drop out of Tanzanian schools. 

To weed them out, all female students had to undergo a violating practice: mandatory pregnancy testing. This was typically conducted via manual exam, which involved kneading the girls’ stomachs or breasts—painful, humiliating, and in the second case, not accepted medical practice. 

At the same time, most schools lacked comprehensive sex education. Many girls said they did not know how to prevent pregnancy, let alone have access to contraception.  

Girls found to be pregnant would be barred from reentering public schools, even after giving birth. Already facing social stigma and heightened health risks, they were left stripped of their right to education. 

The Center brought its case before the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. It argued that a long list of the girls’ other rights had also been violated. This included the rights to non-discrimination, privacy, health, protection against child abuse and torture, and protection against harmful social and cultural practices.  

In 2022, the Committee ruled in favor of the Tanzanian girls, finding the government guilty of widespread rights violations. It also issued a set of recommendations to reform the country’s education system and protect the reproductive rights of Tanzanian girls.  

It was a victory for girls across the continent. “For the first time, a regional human rights body affirmed that adolescents are rights holders, who enjoy the right to access age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health information, including sexuality education, as well as sexual and reproductive health services,” says Martin.

Far from over

Far from over

The Tanzanian government withdrew the ban. It also made policy changes in line with the Committee’s recommendations. But as of 2022, the country’s teen pregnancy rate remains among the highest in the world.  

Martin is “cautiously optimistic” that more change is coming: “We hope to see a complete overhaul of the Tanzania education regulatory framework,” he says. “Change will take some time, but it will eventually come if you are consistent and persistent.” 

Challenges and setbacks are to be expected. “When they arise, I’m not surprised,” says Martin. “They are nothing compared to the satisfaction I get in knowing I have made the lives of many people better.”