By Cooper Inveen
FREETOWN, July 16 (Reuters) - When Mariatu Sesay realised
she was pregnant at 14, one thing scared her more than the
social isolation she felt in the classroom: Sierra Leonean law
banned her from attending school at all because she was
expecting.
A keen student, Sesay continued to show up anyway and begged
her teachers to let her stay, even as other children mocked her
swelling belly.
Moved by Sesay's resolve, the school principal, Eric Conteh,
defied the law, risking his career and becoming an unwitting
figurehead in the fight against a rule that rights groups say is
outdated and stigmatises teenage pregnancy.
"They would call me names, laugh at me and try to tear at my
uniform," Sesay told Reuters, holding her now nine-month-old
baby girl, Nadia, in her arms.
"Whenever I showed up everyone would provoke me, but I love
education so I summed up the courage to keep going."
Sesay, with her parents' consent, agreed to be identified
for this story in order to draw attention to the law.
The school, whose name Reuters is withholding at principal
Conteh's request, is the only one in Sierra Leone known to be
allowing a pregnant girl to continue to attend classes, but
pressure against the law is mounting.
Women's rights group Equality Now filed a challenge to
Sierra Leone's ban last year before the Economic Community of
West African States (ECOWAS) court in Nigeria.
The court heard arguments last month and is expected to rule
in November.
The government says allowing pregnant girls to attend
regular schools would tire them out, expose them to ridicule and
encourage others to get pregnant. It has created part-time
centres where they can study.
Since taking office last year, President Julius Maada Bio
has expanded primary school access. His wife, Fatima Jabbie-Bio,
is an advocate for new legal protections against sexual
violence. But they have not moved to lift the ban on pregnant
students.
The education ministry did not respond to requests for
comment from Reuters.
Conteh said a regional education official visited the school
when Sesay was late in her pregnancy but was so impressed by her
success that he chose not to report her.
"There is no reason that a child should be denied her basic
human rights just because she's pregnant," said Conteh. "Any
pregnant girl who wants to learn is welcome at our school."
Conteh could in theory be fired from his job by the
education authorities for allowing a pregnant girl to continue
studying.
THERE TO LEARN
Africa has the highest adolescent pregnancy rates in the
world and 18 African countries require pregnant girls to drop
out of school.
The ban in Sierra Leone was adopted in 2015 when teenage
pregnancies rose amid the chaos of a massive Ebola outbreak, in
part due to a surge in rapes.
But it can derail girls' lives. One 14-year-old in the
capital Freetown, who was kicked out of school and her parents'
home last September after becoming pregnant, said she hopes
ECOWAS will overturn the ban and allow her to study to become a
journalist.
"Just because someone gets pregnant, it doesn't mean their
life is over," said the girl, whose name Reuters is withholding
to protect her privacy.
Sesay herself was persuaded into having sex for the first
time with an older man, a motorcycle taxi driver, and two months
later realised she was pregnant.
"If you're in school, you're there to learn. If you're not,
you're just going to get married or get pregnant again," she
said.
(Editing by Aaron Ross, Edward McAllister and Susan Fenton)