Professional Aspirations of the Girl-Mothers of the Gambela II Neighborhood in Lubumbashi

In Lubumbashi, we observed a large number of girl-mothers in school. Referring to the African tradition, still valid in the Democratic Republic of Congo, when a girl gives birth without being married, this early motherhood often poses many problems. In particular: family members accuse each other, everyone blames the other, the family is dishonored and the girl who is expecting family is left to herself. Hence, the pregnant girl is obliged to break her studies. After having a child, some courageous girls go back to school to continue their studies in their old fields. Others change training courses. But there are also those who permanently stop their studies. In the present research, we are concerned with whether female mothers who are returning to school and those who leave school definitely want to practice a profession after experiencing a form of marginalization in society. If they want to pursue a profession, we also want to find out what types of trades they want to pursue and why they choose these professions. These are the main reasons that justify this study.