Senator Sylvia wows Africa, SABC looks for her

MBABANE – After delivering a paper on COVID-19’s impact on girls and women’s education, SABC and other outlets asking for an interview with Senator Sylvia Mthethwa.

This was after her presentation during a session for the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) held in Midrand, South Africa.

Senator Mthethwa was given the task to take Africa through and share learning experiences about legislative reforms implemented to mitigate the impact COVID-19 had on the girls and women’s education.

She used study.

The businesswoman and former Lubombo regional administrator said Eswatini experienced unprecedented high unintended pregnancies of among school girls at the peak of the pandemic.

“Indeed, the pandemic brought a precarious state globally and Eswatini was not spared from the negative impacts of the pandemic on our girls and women’s education,” Senator Mthethwa said.

She said the pregnancies resulted drop-outs in both primary and secondary schools.

“This also resulted in high rate

Eswatini as

acase of unsafe illegal abortion which tends to compromise the health of the young girls,” she said.

Since COVID-19 culminated in job losses, the senator pointed to the fact that parents did not have money to pay school fees for their school children.

This ultimate and unfortunate lack o jobs, she said resulted drop-outs in high schools.

On another note, she mentioned that gender-based violence increased to an alarming rate, with courts being flooded with divorce cases. Senator Mthethwa said faith-based organisations and police under the Domestic Violence in

Unit were overwhelmed by dire situations in families.

MITIGATING

the

She then praised His Majesty’s government for working tirelessly to find timely and effective mitigating measures.

The mitigating measures employed by the government to

Eswatini representatives at the Pan African Parliament, met senior diplomats representing the country in South Africa. (L-R) Senator Tony Sibandze, MP Thandi Nxumalo, Lindiwe Kunene, the Eswatini High Commissioner to South Africa, Senator Sylvia Mthethwa, MP Victor Malambe and Portia Dlamini from the Eswatini High Commission to South Africa.