Future will be bleaker if teen girls neglected

The theme of World Population Day this year – which fell on Monday – fit Thailand like a glove. It was “Investing in teenage girls”. Those who conceived it clearly realised the immense benefits that accrue from empowering young women, not least of which, as national leaders around the globe have stressed, is achieving the shared goal of sustainable development.

Thailand has every reason to embrace the theme year-round. We are at a crucial juncture of our history with the emergence of a “grey society”. The birth rate here is among the lowest in Asia. The workforce is shrinking. Public healthcare costs are about to increase dramatically. Investing in the wellbeing of young women thus becomes a direct route to development that can be sustained indefinitely. To make the most of our diminishing resources, the generations about to come of age must be healthy and intelligent. Disrupting this is a problem facing societies everywhere – teen pregnancy. It often forces girls to drop out of school, given little argument by parents who don’t regard education as crucial for girls anyway. Far too often, as well, an unwanted pregnancy prompts young women to chance a risky abortion. Meanwhile, in a society that doesn’t care enough, many other girls and women become the victims of violence. Not even the young ones who manage to stay in school have assured access to essential information about personal health or rights, which include reproductive rights. As a result they are vulnerable to disease, injury and exploitation.

The Thai government currently lacks a master plan for meeting the needs of teenage girls. What Thailand does have now is the Prevention and Remedial Measures for Adolescent Pregnancy Bill, just enacted this year, which goes some way to addressing the multiple issues involved. 

Some 130,000 Thai teenagers become mothers every year, more than anywhere else in Southeast Asia. If girls can avoid unwanted pregnancy, both their own lives and the national economy would be free to flourish unburdened. The World Bank earlier this year urged all nations to invest in the welfare and future of girls, noting that pregnancy avoided until an appropriate age usually ensures young women proper nutrition and healthcare before, during and afterward and a far greater likelihood of healthier, stronger children.

We hope every government agency with an interest in this matter can be drawn into a joint effort to plan a course of investment in young women, and that it rises in priority on the national agenda. This is not a question of women’s rights or even human rights in general. Giving young women equal chances at education and employment – and to become mothers only if and when they are ready – will be a boon to everyone in society.

As one example, a recent McKinsey Global study concluded that just having as many women as men in the workforce would annually add US$28 trillion to the world’s gross domestic product. There can be no denying women’s contribution to economic growth, and Thailand can do far better in this respect than it is now.

When teenage girls know their rights and have the support needed to succeed, they become the keys to positive change in their communities and countries. They are the future, and there is no good reason to hesitate when it comes to investing for a better future.

The “teen-mum act” represents one small step to realising the goal of sustainable development. Among other things it requires the Education Ministry to introduce better sex education in the schools, with the curricula varying according to different ages. 

So much more needs to be done, and hence the need for a comprehensive plan that involves all of the pertinent ministries. We need an empowered generation of young women to cope with challenges of the future.