Unplanned Futures: Adolescent Pregnancies in Zimbabwe

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Authors

Munyaradzi Chidarikire (ed)
Great Zimbabwe University
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3507-8329

Keywords:

Pregnancy, Unwanted Pregnancy, Adolescent Pregnancies, Early Pregnancy, Zimbabwe, Child Protection, Drug Abuse

Synopsis

In the sprawling landscape of Zimbabwean education and social welfare, a quiet catastrophe unfolds daily not in dramatic headlines, but in the empty desks of primary classrooms, the whispered confessions of primary, secondary schoolgirls and tertiary level, and the silent desperation of child-headed households. This book titled “Unplanned Futures: Adolescent Pregnancy in Zimbabwe”, does not flinch from that catastrophe. Instead, it dissects it with rigorous scholarship and profound humanity, offering the most comprehensive examination of this crisis that our nation has yet seen. What distinguishes this book is its breath-taking scope. The authors, drawn from the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education of Primary and Secondary Education, Great Zimbabwe University, University of Zimbabwe, Bindura University of Science, Midlands State University, Zimbabwe Open University, Morgenster Teachers College, United College of Education and Hillside Teachers Colleges, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education of Justice, the University of Free State in South Africa, University of Stellenbosch and the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, represent an unprecedented coalition and multidisciplinary of national and regional expertise. Every page oozes of their enthusiasm for sexual abstinence, gender justice, children's rights and sexual reproductive health rights. Together they transcend dry facts and figures and try to understand the reality of daily life for the most disadvantaged: the primary school child in the small village with a disability, the orphaned girl/child leading a broken household and the university-going girl/young woman who struggles through drug abuse and with an unplanned pregnancy. The chapters here are not isolated case studies but interconnected interventions. They probe the academic wreckage left by early pregnancies at both primary, secondary and tertiary levels, while boldly confronting the policy paradox of "the right to return" versus "the right to belong" asking whether our schools truly welcome back young mothers or merely tolerate their presence. Equally innovative is the exploration of modern solutions: mobile-phone-based counseling, the revitalization of ubuntu values, and the urgent link between online digital exposure and sexual vulnerability. Importantly, the book identifies what few have openly discussed – the increasingly sad link between adolescent suicide with early pregnancies in rural Zimbabwe and provides culturally informed recommendations for prevention and healing. This is no easy read and it shouldn't be. It is a challenge for all decision makers, educators, parents and community champions to shift from unintentional to intentional. These scholars, whose scholarship is carried on these pages, have done their part, research carefully and honestly, and resulting analysis and recommendations that are actionable. Now, the burden falls on us. For every "unplanned future" documented here is a real girl, a real family, and a real nation diminished. Let this book be the turning point—from unplanned futures to deliberate, dignified, and protected ones. The evidence is before us. The cure begins with our response.

By Professor Kudzai Chinyoka is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at Great Zimbabwe University in Zimbabwe.

Chapters

References

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Chidarikire, M., & Chikwati, T. (2024). Unravelling causes and mitigating suicidal tendencies in male educators in Zimbabwe's rural regions: A comprehensive analysis. Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies, 50(5), 293–303. https://doi.org/10.9734/ajess/2024/v50i51363

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Published

8 September 2026
Copyright (c) 2026 Munyaradzi Chidarikire; Eugenia Mabika, Netsai Kumpewu, Miriam Masikati, Lilian Chaminuka, Tinevimbo Shumba, Pinias Chikuvadze, Cecilia Muza, Theresia Joakim Kanyopa, Juliet Kamwendo, Alice Kuyayama, Moses Kufakunesu, Joel Marashe, Olivia Kaila, Vongai Mazivazvose, Brenda Muchopa-Chatira, Yolanda N. Tshuma, Margaret Machingambi, Shupikai Zebron, Prudence Mavhemwa, Nozihle Ncube, Abraham Maposa, Everjoy Masanjala, Mildred Kudzanai Chanhuwa, Herbert Muradzikwa, Nkululeko Sibanda, Prince Chidarikire, Patience Marashe

Details about the available publication format: E-Book

E-Book

ISBN-13 (15)

978-81-6632-030-9

Details about the available publication format: Book (Paperback)

Book (Paperback)

ISBN-13 (15)

978-81-6632-031-6

How to Cite

Chidarikire, M. (Ed.). (2026). Unplanned Futures: Adolescent Pregnancies in Zimbabwe. Deep Science Publishing. https://doi.org/10.70593/978-81-6632-030-9
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