Teenage pregnancy is one of the socio-economic issues in South Africa that is growing into an elusive statistical nightmare every day. Governments, NPO’s an NGO’s have tried every means to prevent this issue, but it seems like it only gets worse by the day.
However, there might still be hope as three Mzansi teenagers have taken the initiative to raise the lid on the reality of teen pregnancy in a courageous documentary designed to help educate young people about what it’s really like to be sixteen and pregnant in modern day South Africa.
MTV Base will air this special documentary about Teenage Pregnancy in SA titled ‘Sixteen & Pregnant.’
The documentary will premiere on MTV Base (SA) on Wednesday 31 May @21:30 CAT, and on MTV Base (ROA) Wednesday 31 May at 22:00 WAT. The show will also air on MTV (DStv channel 130) on Friday 28 July at 13:35 CAT.
Just recently, the government released data showing that 15,500 South African school-age students fell pregnant in the 2015 school year. The MTV Staying Alive Foundation and Marie Stopes International are setting out to provide a platform to highlight the need for improved access to information and services for young people to empower their sexual and reproductive decision-making
Having learned the hard way what it’s like to be “Sixteen and Pregnant”, sixteen-year old high school students Thato, Fanele and Nhlanhla are to share their personal stories in the candid documentary. The one-hour special, filmed in and around Rockville, Kliptown and Pretoria earlier this year, follows a critical period in the life of each teen as she navigates the bumpy terrain of adolescence, rebellion, love, sex and coming of age – all while dealing with pregnancy and motherhood when barely more than a child herself.
MTV Shuga Presents 16 and Pregnant is produced by the MTV Staying Alive Foundation and directed by award-winning South African documentary director and film-maker, Annelet Steenkamp. The programme is designed to complement drama series MTV Shuga: Down South, whose storylines involve teen pregnancy, contraception, unwanted pregnancy and mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
About Sixteen and Pregnant
Sixteen and Pregnant first debuted on MTV in the U.S. on 11 June 2009. Since 2009, the year that 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom premiered on MTV, there has been a 41 percent decline in the teen birth rate in the United States.
About The Cast
Thato
Thato is from a middle class background and lives with her strong-willed mother and great grandmother. She has a good relationship with both her parents and they are both supportive, wanting only the best for Thato. She has a good relationship with the baby daddy even post giving birth. She loves nothing more than to dress up and party with her big circle of friends. Although her mom advised her ‘not to mess around with boys’, she had no sexual health education to guide her in making the correct sex decisions. Her ambition is to be a respected lawyer.
Fanele
Fanele has no access to basic services (proper housing, sanitation, running water) let alone sexual health education within her environment. Initially shy but once she settles, she has a big personality. She has participated in the arts from a young age; dancing, singing and acting and has travelled overseas to participate in an international production. She is outgoing and aspires to making a name for herself – not for selfish reasons but to disprove the stereotypes around Kliptown (a shanty township). Not much positivity is associated with the town and she would like to change that narrative.
Nhlanhla
Nhlanhla lives in a SA mining town where the biggest diamond ever was found. She lives with her older brother and grandmother. Although she doesn’t live with her mother, her mom is the closest person in her life. She loves animals, particularly reptiles, her favourite being snakes. She enjoys learning and looks forward to realizing her dream of being a vet.
Picture credit: IOL
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