The challenge of juggling academics and motherhood

One morning, Jane Uwamwiza* woke up feeling unwell. At the time, she was getting ready to go to university after receiving a scholarship from the Genocide Survivors Support and Assistance Fund, known as FARG.

“I went to the hospital, only to be told that I was pregnant. I had just enrolled in university but could not go due to my pregnancy,” she said. “I felt like it was the end of my life; I was always upset and felt lonely. Getting pregnant meant that I had to suspend that academic year.”

Unintended pregnancies remain a serious issue that keeps thousands of young women out of school and higher education institutions.

According to figures from the Rwanda Ministry of Health,17,849 cases of teen pregnancies were recorded in 2016, which decreased to 17,337 in 2017 and went up to 19,832 in 2018. In 2019, teen pregnancies increased to 23,628.

This means Uwamwiza is one of at least 81,000 cases of unintended pregnancies recorded in four years. In a culture that frowns upon pregnancies out of wedlock, these young women face an uphill battle.

“After giving birth, I lived a bad life because my mother was not happy with the situation, and she also had a business elsewhere. I had to live with my cousins. I did not have all the care and support a mother gets,” Uwamwiza said.

However, she was determined to raise her baby and not let go of her dream to study. And when her child was a toddler, she eventually did, leaving the child at home with her grandmother.

She enrolled the following year at the University of Lay Adventists of Kigali, a private university with a satellite campus in Nyanza District in the Southern Province.

Students shy away from reporting pregnancies

There are no official statistics of students who are also mothers. But officials from universities say that cases of unintended pregnancies are recorded.

According to Thérésie Nyirahabimana, the director of student welfare at the University of Rwanda’s Huye district-based College of Arts and Social Sciences, women students find it hard to report that they are pregnant or have children.

“Sometimes they hide that they are pregnant or that they have kids. In some cases, they first feel they can abort, and they sometimes fear to report because they are not married,” she told University World News.

Uwamwiza (27) will soon graduate with a law degree and is ready to work hard to raise her child. As a single mother and a student, she said that one must be strong and committed to both academics and motherhood.

“At first, you feel ashamed and stigmatised. Very few people understand why you got pregnant before getting married. You feel ridiculed even by your family and find it hard to study,” she said. Without support, it is also difficult to ensure that the child is healthy and safe.

“In the early days, I hid that I had a baby ... At first, I was embarrassed, and I wondered how others would treat me,” Uwamwiza said.

But she struggled with breast pain like other mothers who could not breastfeed their babies early and eventually opened up to her roommate.

Her fellow students helped her get medical treatment. But they were also surprised and started treating her differently, which she said she was not happy about at all.

“As I realised that I had nothing to hide because I had to go home every weekend to see my child, I informed my classmates so that they could cover for me and help me with assignments,” she said.

“It wasn’t easy, because I had to pay for transport every weekend and sometimes pay for the baby’s expenses like milk, community health insurance, and diapers using my student allowance.”

At the time, the monthly allowance was RWF25,000. It has since increased to RWF40,000 (US$40).

“It was a tough experience being a mother and a student at the same time. Sometimes I struggled to pass, not because I am not intelligent, but because I spent more time worrying about my baby than about studying,” she said.

A room for mothers

Nyirahabimana, who works at one of the biggest colleges in the country, is currently managing eight student pregnancies. She said that, although they are aware of some cases, many are not reported while others are only reported when the student is about to deliver.

Nyirahabimana said the university understands that students who become mothers while still at university deserve the right to study and take care of their babies.

“We have established a special room for mothers to breastfeed their kids. We are always closer to them and have counsellors who regularly talk to them, assuring them that life goes on, despite their being single mothers,” she said.

She added that the rate of students who suspend their studies because they are pregnant is low and that the university would continue raising awareness among women students to avoid early pregnancies as well as supporting those who do get pregnant.

According to Antonia Mutoro, the national coordinator of the Forum for Women Educationalists (FAWE) Rwanda chapter, single mothers at universities and in secondary schools deserve to be supported and encouraged to continue with their studies just like their peers.

FAWE is a pan-African women’s organisation with the mission to support girls and women to get an education.

“Girls are brought up with the notion that giving birth before marriage is taboo. It reflects badly on the girl and brings shame to her family. So, giving birth before marriage makes her a misfit – she is no longer a girl, but neither is she a woman,” Mutoro said.

“Single mothers, whether at university or in secondary school, should be treated just like any other girl. They need mentors to help them regain their self-worth. They should know that slipping or skidding is not falling down and even after falling down, one stands up, wipes off the dust or mud and continues,” she added.

Mutoro encouraged single mothers, especially university students, to work hard to make a better future for themselves and for the baby as they still have the intellectual capacity to get even better results.

“Interruptions in her studies have to be there for her health and for that of the baby the first few months, but then she should be enabled to resume her studies,” Mutoro said.

While there are no official statistics of girls who give birth while at university and the hurdles they go through, public and non-government organisations such as FAWE Rwanda continue campaigns to prevent unintended pregnancies before marriage.

Ready to graduate, Uwamwiza is positive about the future. Her four-year-old son is getting ready to start primary school and she is sure that she will do all she can to support him. “All in all, I believe life goes on and that my future and that of my baby will be bright,” she said.

* Not her real name.