LocationsA Second Chance for Agnes: Back in School After Teenage Pregnancy
July 14, 2026
Back in the classroom, Agnes is embracing a second chance to complete her education and build a better future for herself and her child.
For many girls in rural communities, poverty can quietly push them out of school. When families cannot afford food, soap, uniforms or school supplies, girls may become vulnerable to exploitation by people who promise to provide for them.
This was the reality for 15-year-old Agnes Nkhata, a Standard 7 learner at Tukombo Primary School in Nkhata Bay. Agnes lives with her grandmother. Her father passed away, and her mother travelled to South Africa to search for work to support the family. At home, basic needs were often difficult to meet.
At 14, Agnes became pregnant. This interrupted her education.
“When I found out, I felt ashamed and afraid,” Agnes recalls. “I stopped going to school because I was scared so I could not return.”
Bringing rights awareness closer to families
Agnes’ story began to change through the Strengthening Human Rights for Vulnerable Populations Project, funded by the Governments of Iceland and Norway through UNDP Malawi, and implemented with support from civil society partners, including the Foundation for Children’s Rights.
Her story is part of a broader transformation driven by the project’s work on Addressing Sexual and Gender-Based Violence through the social analysis and action approach in Nkhata Bay and Mzimba Districts.
Agnes’ experience reflects deeper social and gender norms that often limit girls’ opportunities. In many communities, teenage pregnancy is still treated as the end of a girl’s education. Some girls are pushed into marriage, while others remain at home because of shame, stigma or lack of support.
To address this, the project uses the social analysis and action approach, which supports communities to openly examine harmful beliefs and practices and agree on safer, more protective alternatives.
Through community gender dialogue fora and village-level discussion groups, community members, including traditional leaders, religious leaders, women, men and survivors of gender-based violence, discuss how gender and social norms contribute to child marriage, teenage pregnancy and school dropout. These dialogues help communities challenge harmful attitudes and identify ways to protect girls’ rights.
It was through these community-led structures that Agnes and her grandmother were reached.
They received counselling and support, but most importantly, they were helped to understand that pregnancy does not remove a girl’s right to education. Project-supported community members encouraged Agnes to return to school and helped her family see that her future was not over.
With her grandmother’s support, Agnes returned to class.
“I am happy to be back in school,” she says. “I want to complete my education so that, in the future, I can support my grandmother and my child.”
Samuel Phiri is helping schools create safe, welcoming and supportive environments for girls returning to education after pregnancy.
The school’s role: Making return possible
For girls like Agnes, returning to school after pregnancy is not always easy. Some face stigma, teasing or isolation by other learners. According to Samuel Phiri, Assistant Center Coordinator for Tukombo zone, schools must make sure that girls who return after pregnancy feel safe and accepted.
“As educators, our role is to make sure the girls are well accommodated when they return,” he says. “Coming back to school after having a baby can be difficult because some students may stigmatise or harass them. Schools, therefore, need to provide guidance, counselling, and a welcoming environment.”
Samuel says the project has helped build a stronger support system between schools, traditional leaders, communities and organisations.
“There is visible change at the grassroots level,” he says. “Parents are more aware now. They understand that a girl can return to school after pregnancy. The collaboration between traditional leaders, schools, and organisations has created a safety net that was not there before.”
Group Village Headman Jacob Phiri is helping communities challenge child marriage and support girls to return to school.
The chief’s voice: Changing community attitudes
Traditional leaders are also helping to sustain the project's gains. Group Village Headman Jacob Phiri says that before the intervention, child marriage was common in his area. Some families did not value education, while others felt too poor to keep their children in school.
“The project brought education to both elders and young people,” he says. “We learned about human rights and the dangers of early marriage.”
According to the chief, the change is visible. Child marriage cases in his area have reportedly reduced from about nine cases a year to almost zero.
“If a case is reported, we act immediately to bring the girl back to school,” he says.
A second chance backed by national commitments
Agnes’ return to school reflects rights central to Malawi’s human rights commitments: every girl’s right to learn, be protected and grow up with dignity.
Angela Kaunda, Senior Deputy Director for Human Rights in the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, notes that gender-based violence, child marriage, discrimination and access to justice receive consideration and response within the framework of Malawi’s treaty obligations and Universal Periodic Review.
“By addressing these issues, the UNDP Human Rights Project has significantly contributed to Malawi’s implementation of its treaty obligations and recommendations received under the UPR process.”
These commitments also need trusted reporting systems. Ms. Habiba Osman, Executive Secretary of the Malawi Human Rights Commission, explains that fear of retaliation, stigma and discrimination keeps many violations hidden.
“When citizens know that their complaints will be handled professionally, confidentially and impartially, they are more likely to come forward.”
For girls like Agnes, these systems matter when families support them, schools welcome them back and pregnancy is no longer seen as the end of their future.
Looking ahead: A future reclaimed
Agnes is still young, and her journey is not easy. She is both a learner and a mother. However, due to the project’s community-based approach, she is no longer facing the future alone.
Her story is not just about one girl returning to school. It reflects a wider shift in which communities are questioning harmful norms, local systems are responding to protect vulnerable groups, and girls are reclaiming their right to education.
Through the Social Analysis and Action approach, change is not imposed from outside. It is led by communities themselves, making it more likely to last.
For Agnes, the classroom is more than a place of learning. It is proof that when communities rethink harmful norms and act together, pregnancy does not have to end a child’s education.
It can become the beginning of a second chance.
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