By Aminata Abu Bakarr Kamara
Child marriage and teenage pregnancy remain among the most painful and persistent challenges facing Sierra Leone today. Despite years of awareness campaigns, laws, and policy discussions, too many young girls continue to have their childhoods stolen forced into marriage, motherhood, and poverty before they even understand what adulthood means. The question we must ask, as a society, is this: who is truly responsible?
It is easy to point fingers to blame the girls for being “wayward,” or the boys for being “irresponsible.” But the truth is far more complex, and the blame lies not with the victims, but with the structures and mindsets that continue to fail them.
First, we must acknowledge the role of parents and families. In some communities, child marriage is still seen as a solution to poverty. Parents give away their daughters early sometimes for bride price, sometimes out of fear that education is a waste for girls. In doing so, they trade their children’s future for temporary relief. It may be driven by economic hardship, but it remains a betrayal of parental responsibility.
Then there are the men and boys who exploit young girls, knowing well they are children. Teenage pregnancy does not happen by accident it is the outcome of power imbalance, exploitation, and neglect. Some men impregnate girls and then walk away freely, while the girls bear the lifelong consequences dropping out of school, facing stigma, and struggling to raise children alone. Accountability for these men is rare, and that silence makes society complicit
We must also speak honestly about the failure of our systems schools that do not protect girls, health facilities that are inaccessible, and a justice system that often looks the other way. Laws against child marriage exist on paper, but how many offenders are truly punished? How many community leaders enforce these laws? The weak implementation of policies is one of the biggest enablers of the problem.
Our traditional and religious leaders also have a moral duty. Too often, silence is mistaken for neutrality. When a chief allows a 14-year-old girl to be married off, or when a religious leader blesses such a union, they are not preserving culture they are perpetuating harm. True leadership means protecting the vulnerable, not upholding customs that destroy lives.
And what about the government and policymakers? Teenage pregnancy and child marriage are not isolated issues; they are symptoms of poverty, poor education, and inequality. Unless we invest more in girl-child education, sexual health awareness, and community empowerment, the cycle will continue. Free education means little if girls are unsafe in schools or lack role models who inspire them to stay.
But beyond all this, there is the issue of community responsibility. Every time a neighbor looks away, every time a teacher ignores the signs, every time we justify child marriage as “tradition,” we share the blame. It is not enough to condemn from afar; prevention starts in our homes, our schools, our villages.
We must move from sympathy to accountability. Parents must protect their daughters, men must respect young girls, chiefs must enforce laws, and government must empower communities. This is not just a moral issue it is a national crisis that affects our future.
When a girl becomes a mother before she becomes a woman, it is not just her life that is disrupted—it is the progress of an entire nation.
Until Sierra Leone accepts collective responsibility for child marriage and teenage pregnancy, we will continue to watch generation after generation of girls lose their dreams to silence and neglect.
Copyright –Published in Expo Times News on Friday, 7th Noverber 2025 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)
