School for pregnant teenagers opens in Malaysia
Anonymity is crucial as police believe it is mainly unmarried couples who are abandoning their babies
The first school for pregnant teenagers in mainly-Muslim Malaysia has opened, as part of an attempt to curb the rising number of abandoned babies.
As well as medical check-ups, students will receive religious counselling.
About 70 babies have been left on doorsteps, in rubbish bins and public toilets in Malaysia this year.
Social stigma
The school promises privacy and protection to pregnant teens as well as providing an education.
Anonymity is considered crucial as police believe it is mainly unmarried couples who are abandoning their babies in a desperate attempt to hide the fact that they had pre-marital sex.
Young people in Malaysia, especially Muslims, are expected to abstain until marriage.
Religious officials in Malacca also say they will approve the marriages of more girls under the age of 16, in order to legitimise their sexual relationships.
The stigma of pre-marital sex has even driven older women, like 28-year-old Mila, to give up babies for adoption.
"Even though I'm getting married soon, having sex before marriage is against Islamic tradition. If the baby knew he was born out of wedlock he will carry the shame for the rest of his life," she says.
But the Malaysian women's minister has come out against the idea of schools for pregnant teens.
Separating them from the mainstream school system will further stigmatise them, she told the BBC.
The root of the problem is the lack of sex education in schools.
The women's ministry has for years advocated that students be taught a health and reproductive course.
But religious groups have blocked the idea, saying it will only encourage more teens to get pregnant.
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School for pregnant teens opens, but no takers yet
Saturday September 18, 2010
JASIN: After a lot of media hype about the country’s first school for pregnant teens, Sekolah Harapan opened its doors yesterday without much fanfare – and no enrolment.Present on its first day were only a group of inquisitive journalists from both the local and foreign press who came for a media briefing by the school’s upbeat chairman, Datuk Abdul Rahman Abdul Karim.
The brainchild of the Malacca Islamic Affairs Council, the idea caused a stir when Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam announced two months ago that RM500,000 had been set aside for the School of Hope to provide free education as well as maternity and delivery care for pregnant teens, whether they are married or not.
He defended the move as a way to help prevent incidents of baby dumping.
Empty beds: Abdul Rahman showing the new dormitory of the School of Hope at Jasin in Malacca yesterday.“This is something new, which takes time for society to accept.
“There may not be any students at the moment but we will keep the school open.
“Sooner or later there are bound to be girls coming here to seek help,” he told reporters during a tour of the school yesterday.
The school, he said, had received inquiries from Malacca, Johor and Penang.
“We are giving priority to local teens but will consider those from other states if there are vacancies,” he said, adding that the school could take in about 40 girls, mainly students between Form Two and Form Five.
The two-storey school once housed the office of the Malacca Water Corporation.
An adjacent block that used to be the state Kadi’s office was turned into a 15-bed dormitory.
Abdul Rahman said the students would attend regular classes for standard examination subjects during the day and be taught handicraft and parenting skills in the evening by trained educators.
Abdul Rahman said the school would take in both Muslim and non-Muslim girls, adding that it welcomed non-governmental organisations to assist the teens in improving their lives and being good mothers.
“Islam and every other religion believes in giving a second chance to those who have made mistakes in their life to turn over a new leaf.
“And this is what the school has been set up for,” he said.
The school would be managed by the Malacca Islamic Affairs Department and run by a staff of six.
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