With teenage pregnancies on the rise in Zimbabwe, rights groups are pushing for schoolgirls to be able to obtain contraceptives without parental consent.

Florence Mutake, from the Shamiri Yemwanasiana said that the government’s vice-president had rejected the proposal put forward by some MPs on “cultural and moral” grounds.

But she said it was an issue that needed to be addressed as more than 5,000 girls had become pregnant during the coronavirus pandemic – 2,000 of them aged below 16.

Schools closed for many months to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

“Girls are experimenting with sexual activities exposing them to unwanted pregnancies,” Ms Mutake said.

“We are seeing more and more girls spending time at home with nothing to do.”

Zimbabwean girls are allowed to get married aged 18 and 16 is the age of sexual consent.