A viral video showing a distressed teenage schoolgirl carrying her baby to school has sparked active discussions about the problems young mothers face when trying to balance studies and infant care.
The clip shows the girl walking to school while carrying the baby on her back. Her mother asks her questions about attending school without a bag for the baby and what the infant will eat during the day. The mother asks: 'You are already going to school? How can you go to school without a bag for the baby? What will the baby eat?'
The teenager pleads with her mother to look after the baby for the day, explaining that the infant will start crying and disrupt the learning process. The girl says: 'Could you look after the baby today? The baby will cry in class and bother me.'
The mother insists otherwise, calling the situation 'a disgrace' and demanding that the girl take a bag for the baby. She asserts: 'This is a disgrace. You cannot walk like this, not even covering the baby. Take the baby's bag. Do you want them to starve?' The mother then informed her daughter that she could not stay with the baby and advised her to go to school with the child's father. She added: 'I cannot stay with the baby. You go to school with the father. If you feel tired, you can give the baby to him in class.'
Content or reality?
Some commentators believe that this situation was staged and created to attract attention, while others highly praised the woman's reaction. One commentator called on communities to teach daughters to preserve their virginity. He stated that this would help avoid the trend where girls finish school already having one child, and have two from different fathers by the time they marry. The commentator also urged sons to respect women and understand that sex is a privilege available only to married couples or two responsible, consenting adults.
Another user supported the mother, noting that her action serves as a lesson for those who do not yet value purity, and advised avoiding casual relationships and finishing school.
Regardless of whether the exchange of opinions is staged, it highlights the complex reality faced by young mothers who must continue their education while caring for infants.
This week, the publication IOL reported an incident in Alfred Nzo East district in the Eastern Cape, where a 12th-grade student gave birth in the school toilet during class. The newborn and the student were taken to a local hospital for medical assistance. Earlier this year, the publication Cape Argus reported that between 2024/25, 117,195 girls aged 10 to 19 gave birth to children, emphasizing the importance of children knowing that at age 12 they cannot legally consent to sexual intercourse. In some cases, girls as young as 11 years old became pregnant.