Just days ago, Terengganu State Exco Mohd Nor Hamzah announced that child marriage would not be banned in the state, claiming that “love is like an ocean” and that it was hard for one to stop once it totally engulfs them.
However, he has since clarified over the statement, saying that he was referring to teenage marriages and that the state government does not condone child marriage.
A doctor’s harrowing story
Following the announcement, a doctor named Daya Nandan took to Facebook to share a heartbreaking story of how he delivered the baby of a 11-year-old girl which later turned into a tragedy.
According to him, the incident occurred during his housemanship in Indonesia.
It all began a few hours after midnight when the 11-year-old girl was brought in screaming frantically due to the excruciating pain from being in labour.
I was not shocked at the scene but rather disappointed and heartbroken that something like this is happening again.” he wrote.
After deducing that it was going to be a complicated procedure, Dr. Daya asked a young woman in her 20s who accompanied the girl to get her mother.
To his dismay, she turned out to be the girl’s own mother and to make matters worse, the “husband” of the girl didn’t even bother to turn up.
As he waited for the girl’s mother to fill up the consent forms which she previously had refused to sign, the girl’s condition continued to deteriorate, causing her to be wheeled into the operating theatre to save her life and her baby.
Unfortunately, both the girl and her baby tragically died during the procedure despite Dr. Daya’s best efforts, a sight which shook him to the core.
A child who did not even reach adulthood was robbed of her life that night. To make things worse, her new born child passed away soon after that. The world lost two children that night.
After experiencing the pain of child marriage firsthand, Dr. Daya called for child marriages to be banned as it leaves permanent damage to every girl’s body and mind.
The idea of a child delivering another child to this world is ridiculous. Children should be studying in school not delivering babies in the labour room!
He also urged the public to have compassion on medical practitioners like him who have to witness the death of patients they are trying so hard to save.
“Losing a patient is a horrible experience and drains us mentally. So please, stop giving children a death sentence. They deserve better.”
Read his post here:
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Cover image via Facebook and Malay Mail.
Editor: Sarah Yeoh
