In the making: constructing in-school pregnancy in Mozambique

Salvi, Francesca

Abstract

This article examines current in-school pregnancy policy in Mozambique, Decree 39/GM/2003, discussing how it discursively constructs in-school pregnancy as a problem, thereby raising the need to regulate its occurrence. Decree 39/GM/2003 indicates that pregnant schoolgirls should be transferred to night courses in order to complete their education. Although progressive in some respects, as it allows pregnant girls to remain in education, the Decree reflects a global tendency to see education and pregnancy as oppositional. As a consequence, the practical implications of transferring pregnant girls to night courses have the perverse effect of encouraging dropout. Stimulated by this contradiction, I reflect on how the policy text produces a deficit view of the pregnant schoolgirl. This Foucauldian process of subjectification results in a strengthening of the opposition between pregnancy and education. As a result, pregnant schoolgirls are ‘thrown out’ of their education, defeating the inclusive aims of the national policy.

Citation

Salvi, F. (2018). In the making: constructing in-school pregnancy in Mozambique. Gender and Education, 30(4), 494-512. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2016.1219700

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 20, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Aug 10, 2016
• Publication Date: May 19, 2018
• Deposit Date: Jun 24, 2024
• Journal: Gender and Education
• Print ISSN: 0954-0253
• Electronic ISSN: 1360-0516
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 30
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 494-512
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2016.1219700
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/35159910
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09540253.2016.1219700