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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIndia media storm over 10-year-old pregnant rape victim
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-40823438<snip>
A 10-year-old girl who is pregnant and has been refused an abortion is at the centre of a media storm in India. The BBC's Geeta Pandey travelled to the northern city of Chandigarh to piece together her story.
"We have seen lots of cases of teenage pregnancies involving 14 to 15-year-olds, but this is the first ever case that I have seen of a 10-year-old," said Mahavir Singh, of the Chandigarh State Legal Services Authority.
Mr Singh has been involved in a case which has shocked Chandigarh and the rest of India, that of a 10-year-old girl who became pregnant after allegedly being repeatedly raped by a relative.
That relative is now in jail, pending trial.
The girl in question has been described as a happy child who smiles easily. She's shy and not very talkative. English and mathematics are the favourite subjects of this class six student. She loves to draw and is pretty good at it. She can't get enough of her favourite cartoon shows Chhoti Anandi (Little Anandi) and Shin Chan. She loves chicken and fish - and ice-cream.
TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)it is a dilemma deciding on an abortion when doctors say her health may be an issue, but what this family is going through is horrible.
The only good news is that the relative is in the slam awaiting trial.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)This poor little girl. Her childhood has been stolen from her by some piggish man who doesn't deserve to live.
malaise
(267,799 posts)Sickening
pnwmom
(108,925 posts)isn't ready to carry through a pregnancy. She should have been allowed to abort the pregnancy months ago.
TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)and a bunch of doctors said the abortion was more dangerous.
A chubby 10-year old with uneducated parents? Who would even think of pregnancy? They didn't find out until she complained of pain and they took her to the doctor.
Sad story all around, and the only one to place blame or judgment on is the sumbitch who raped and knocked her up.
LisaL
(44,962 posts)She is too young to understand and parents didn't know either.
brush
(53,467 posts)Why are they insisting on putting someone who is still a child through child birth?
TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)the article didn't explain why.
Perhaps we have someone around here who can shed some light on it.
LisaL
(44,962 posts)own.
Warpy
(110,900 posts)and the worst part is that she's not alone.
get the red out
(13,458 posts)Thank God her doctors are planning on delivering by Cesarean.
Warpy
(110,900 posts)she will likely need to deliver any babies the same way. This, too, is horrible.
The world is a horrific place for too many girl children.
get the red out
(13,458 posts)I just about can't bear reading things like this, I almost lose my mind! If I weren't on anti-depressants I would have obsessed on this child's horror all day.
And the kicker is that at least in India she won't be executed for being a rape victim! There are places where she would be, or her family would kill her. Her family seems to love her at least, and the perpetrator is in jail.
So many parts of the world are wretched for females. And now here we have people like that Devos person who Trump positioned to destroy education in this country, who met with "men's rights groups" about the sorry state of higher ed that they actually have policies in place to protect rape victims on colleges campuses. So unfair to those guys!
ProudLib72
(17,984 posts)Not making it up, and Snopes says so: http://www.snopes.com/pregnant/youngestmother.asp
Regardless of our squeamishness, we have to note that the claim of a five-year-old girl giving birth is apparently true. Her name was Lina Medina, a Peruvian girl from the Andean village of Ticrapo who made medical history when she gave birth to a boy by caesarean section in May 1939 at the age of five years, seven months and 21 days. Linas parents initially thought their daughter had a large abdominal tumor, but after they took her to a hospital in the town of Pisco physicians confirmed that her abdominal swelling was due to pregnancy. Lina was eventually transferred to a hospital in Lima, where she delivered a six-pound baby boy by Cesarean section on 14 May 1939 (coincidentally the date on which Mothers Day was celebrated that year). Linas father was temporarily jailed on suspicion of incest, but he was released for a lack of evidence and authorities were never able to determine who fathered Linas child.
malaise
(267,799 posts)Damn!
ProudLib72
(17,984 posts)Incestuous rape of a five year old and carrying the pregnancy to term?! How would a girl view her child? What would she think about her own family letting this happen? How does this affect her self-esteem?
I hate knowing stupid trivia like the youngest pregnancy ever. Ours is a sick society, and I believe it has been sick a very long time.
malaise
(267,799 posts)I assume her mother would raise the infant.
ProudLib72
(17,984 posts)But you'd think that at some point she'd find out. In the case of the ten year old, she knows. She will never forget. What a choice to be given at that age: carry the baby to term and be a mother, or have an abortion and kill the baby. Except, as we know, it was never really her choice to begin with.
countryjake
(8,554 posts)That's one of the saddest articles I've read in a long time