By Ayanna Kirton, Staff Reporter
Tasha Manley in a contemplative mood as she shares her experiences. - Carlington Wilmot /Freelance Photographer
TASHA MANLEY is in a much better place in her life than she was some years ago.
After surviving the devastating effects of teenage pregnancy, she is now in her final year at the prestigious Norman Manley Law School at the University of the West Indies, Mona, and is waiting anxiously to graduate so that she can play a more active role in her child's life.
Although her story is not uncommon, her unwavering determination to overcome the obstacles put before her is inspiring.
Always a high academic achiever, Manley excelled in high school. She was beginning sixth form at Alpha Academy, in Kingston, when she discovered that she was pregnant. Her parents, her biggest supporters, were crushed when they discovered their daughter's predicament. But Manley refused to let her pregnancy determine her fate.
"In my parents eyes that was the end of a dream... I assured myself that it wouldn't be the end of mine. I would move on. I would not stay down," she says.
Two months after her son, Javari, was born she made it her point of duty to continue sixth form. However, Alpha was no longer an option. Her pregnancy was grounds for expulsion from her old alma mater, a devout Catholic institution. She applied to attend another prominent high school, but says that she was forced to resort to 'disingenuous means' to stay within the mainstream school system. As is routine in many schools, Manley as a new student needed to undergo a medical examination. However, she had all the physical postnatal scars and was aware that if these were discovered she would lose her shot at ever completing sixth form. Her only recourse, she states, was to have someone else do the medical for her.
Following the suggestion of her boyfriend's mother, she opted to let a family member go in her place. She passed the examination with flying colours.
This was not the only hurdle Manley had to overcome. News of her son's birth had spread through her new school and the principal who had received several calls and complaints from people who were aware of her situation confronted her.
"Many of the calls came from parents whose daughters had been kicked out of school because they had gotten pregnant. In their eyes it was unfair for me (a young mother) to be attending the same school that did not condone their own daughter's pregnancy."
SOCIETY PUNISHES TEENAGED MOTHERS
Again she denied her status as a mother.
"While I do not condone dishonesty, I think that I did what I had to. I don't think my actions hurt anybody," she says.
Manley also questions the "penalties meted out to teenage mothers by Jamaican society" and believes she now has an obligation to pioneer the development of legislation that pays close attention to this issue when she begins her legal career.
"I am not endorsing teenage
pregnancy but in cases where it does happen, young women should not be made to suffer all their lives for making a terrible mistake. More facilities need to be put in place to help them -- especially with education. Doors are often closed where they are
concerned.
"What people need to understand is (that) when they do this they run the risk of losing a future doctor, C.E.O., or...lawyer."
It has been almost eight years since her pregnancy and the young woman whose friends describe her as 'determined', 'focused' and 'fiercely loyal' has kicked open several doors herself.
She has successfully completed two Bachelor degrees at the University of the West Indies, one in Political Science with a minor in African Diaspora Studies and another in Law. She is in her final year at the Norman Manley Law School reading for her bar examinations with the aim of becoming an attorney.
She holds the esteemed position of president of the school's student association, a task that would be unmanageable without the help of the 'wonderful executive body'. She also serves as deputy chairperson of the Vision 2000 Youth Group (an arm of the PNP's Youth Organisation) but does not see a political career in the cards just yet. "Maybe in the future but not until I've established myself as a lawyer."
ABOUT HER FAMOUS LAST NAME
Manley recalls several incidents where she has had telephone conversations with people who have been remarkably accommodating whenever she announces her last name. The question of whether she is linked to the famous Manley family is often posed. Her standard response: "My family, the Manleys, is a proud family and I wear my name like a badge of honour. I don't know if I am related to Michael Manley because I have not researched my roots but I do respect him and what he has done for our
country."
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
Added to her list of achievements are her impressive football skills. She has represented the University of the West Indies's women's team in several games in the Caribbean as goalkeeper and confesses that without sports she would not be able to cope with her rigorous academic life.
In November Manley, along with the rest of the student body at the law school, brought the house down with the staging of SILK, their annual charity theatre production. Contrary to popular belief, the life of a law student does not only revolve around books.
"Not all of us are insufferably cerebral," she says with a smile.
