{"id":424598,"date":"2011-05-16T03:23:39","date_gmt":"2011-05-16T03:23:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/05\/16\/man-who-seeks-an-end-to-abortion\/"},"modified":"2011-05-16T03:23:39","modified_gmt":"2011-05-16T03:23:39","slug":"man-who-seeks-an-end-to-abortion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/16\/man-who-seeks-an-end-to-abortion\/","title":{"rendered":"Man Who Seeks an End to Abortion"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Citizen<\/a> (Dar\u00a0es\u00a0Salaam)<\/p>\n

Esther Kibakaya<\/p>\n

15 May 2011<\/p>\n

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With cases of abortion on the rise every year in Tanzania, if media reports are anything to go by, there is one man, who has been losing sleep over the thought of the unborn, being deprived of their right to life. It has been a burden that Emil Hagamu, a former teacher based in Dar es Salaam, has carried for two decades now.<\/p>\n

“I want people to respect human life – to understand that the physical and emotional trauma women have to go after abortion is avoidable,” says the middle-aged crusader against abortion.<\/p>\n

To many, he might be a little-known human rights campaigner, but Mr Hagamu is not a rookie when it comes to the fight against abortion in Tanzania. Twenty years ago, he quit the teaching profession to embark on a journey he felt it was his calling to follow.<\/p>\n

“My purpose in life is to help people see the blessings of bringing a new life into the world, and help them understand why they shouldn’t take matters into their own hands by destroying lives, especially of unborn children through abortion,” says the founder of Pro-life Tanzania, a not-for-profit-making non-governmental organisation.<\/p>\n

Protect and defend human life<\/strong><\/p>\n

Based in the Chamanzi area of Temeke District of Dar es Salaam, Pro-life Tanzania is what the name denotes. “Our work is to protect and defend human life,” says Hagamu, adding, “We also teach purity and the dignity of marriage and family.”<\/p>\n

What began as simple curiosity over national policy on population at the beginning of 1990 gave birth to the mission that the former teacher feels so passionately about. Together with a group of friends, Hagamu says the idea was to study the relevancy of the national population policy.<\/p>\n

“At that time the government was concerned about population growth and the idea in the policy was to link population growth and development.<\/p>\n

“In 1992, deliberate efforts were made to adopt family planning education in various areas, especially in schools. But the outcome of this was that many women started terminating their pregnancies because we had borrowed ways from foreign countries, of stopping population growth.”<\/p>\n

“That is how the idea of protecting human life came up. We do not believe that high population growth is bad as long as we have the resources. Look at China, they have a very high population but they are doing well,” says Hagamu.<\/p>\n

Sex education<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since then, his NGO has been visiting universities, schools and colleges targeting especially the youth to encourage them to shun and avoid abortion through providing sex education. They also use books and videos with professional advice on the consequences of abortion.<\/p>\n

The human rights crusader, who is also an author, believes that the work they have been doing has helped the youth and adults in all the communities they have held seminars in Tanzania “to see the truth”.<\/p>\n

“We have made a huge impact concerning abortion as well because I believe our people are now better informed than before.<\/p>\n

Hagamu quickly points out that sex education must not be the central focus of life lessons in school. “I believe what students need is to be taught good manners and how grow up with dignity,” he says.<\/p>\n

“We are not blind to the fact that our youth face quite a number of challenges, but teaching them about sex won’t help much. They need to be taught responsibility.”<\/p>\n

He takes a swipe at “misleading adverts” promoting the use of artificial contraceptives. He argues that it is greed and not concern for women that motivates the promotion of contraceptives.<\/p>\n

“We were actually once sued for arguing that people were being misled on the use these artificial family planning methods, but we argued our case, and those we had challenged to justify their claims about the benefits of such methods did not show up in court fearing that we could expose them.”<\/p>\n

“In our campaigns we have been warning women to be very careful, and where necessary to reconsider their choices when it comes to the use of contraceptives because what we know is that most of these imported products pose a major health hazard. This is the truth they are never told,” says the former teacher.<\/p>\n

Hagamu, who has travelled to Uganda, Malawi, Ethiopia, Lethoso, Zambia, Sudan, South Africa and Namibia to learn more about his work, says the other role his NGO has been playing is providing marriage counselling, as well as helping people deal with sexual abuse and domestic violence.<\/p>\n

“I am glad that the government understands what we trying to do, especially when it concerns human life,” says the former teacher, who attributes his interest in human rights issues to his upbringing.<\/p>\n

Says Hagamu: “My parents raised me to be who I am today. They made me understand the role that I should play as a teacher and Christian to fight for what I believe is right. I think I am serving my community better.”<\/p>\n

The Dar es Salaam-based former teacher is a social worker, who is motivated by the desire to make a difference in his community. He is a passionate human rights activist, a believer in the dignity of human life. More so, he is a counsellor, who believes in the sanctity of marriage. That is why he provides marriage counselling, and helps victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence deal with their ordeal. Emil Hagamu strongly believes in Christian values. For example, he notes that man has no right to take another man’s life. That is why he chose to embark on a mission to put an end to abortion.<\/p>\n

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\nMan Who Seeks an End to Abortion<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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