‘They are a shame to the community … ’ stigma, school attendance, solitude and resilience among pregnant teenagers and teenage mothers in Mahama refugee camp, Rwanda

Abstract

Mahama refugee camp in Rwanda, whose population is predominately Burundian, has registered a rapid rise in pregnancies among girls between 13 and 15 years. In Rwanda, pregnant girls are encouraged to remain in school as long as their health and the health of the child is not jeopardised. Yet this study found that the majority of pregnant teenagers and teen mothers in Mahama are not in school due to the stigma associated with teenage pregnancy. This paper describes how pregnant teenagers and teen mothers experience stigma in terms of solitude and isolation. I draw on Bourdieusian theories of capital to expand on the analysis of solitude, to highlight how teen mothers use this solitude or isolation to rebuild their self-esteem and the symbolic capital which they lose when they become pregnant. The study suggests that despite the existence of a policy guaranteeing certain rights to girls, closer attention should be paid to the contextual barriers that may hinder pregnant teenagers or teen mothers from exercising these rights.