A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to do a field interview at a shelter home for pregnant teens somewhere in Johor. It was for a job I did for a project on Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) that focused on teenage pregnancy and its correlation to extremism and economic rights. In order to execute it, my team and I had to interview several survivors. Finding a shelter home that was willing to accept us was tricky but eventually we were lucky that our search was welcomed by a shelter house in Skudai, Johor. The matriarch who was in charge of the shelter was the nicest person when I spoke to her over the phone. Arrangement for the visit went smoothly and so the day of the interview arrived. My team and I spent a day at the house but unfortunately it was not the nicest experience. It was somewhat traumatic for me.
As this is my first time visiting a shelter home for pregnant teens, I was aware that I need to navigate this visit with an open mind and no judgement. But the sight of girls as young as 16 years old carrying a baby of her own or holding their big belly hits me hard. I was immediately frustrated, confused, uncomfortable and filled with guilt. They are definitely too young to have their own babies. They should be at school instead. Learning and dreaming about the future like a normal teenager should.
The shelter houses about 40 girls as young as 16 years old. Most of them became pregnant from consensual sex out of wedlock and some are rape victims. Every now and then, the shelter receives new cases from all over Malaysia. We were able to witness how the process of admission goes as a mother arrived during our visit to drop her pregnant daughter. Needless to say, it was a safe space, the girls were protected from the outside world and the matriarch did her best at catering to their needs. At least I was convinced that it is. Things started to unravel themselves as we interviewed some of the survivors.
Survivors of teenage pregnancy are vulnerable to many maternal health challenges that also include social stigma, stereotypes and mental health challenges. Rejection from their parents or communities further pushes them away from sufficient emotional support that is much needed during pregnancy, delivery and postnatal period. In addition to that, they also need access to financial assistance and mental health support. It was a noble thing to do to open a shelter home and provide protection to these girls. However, good faith alone without proper knowledge on how to manage a shelter is not good enough.
As hard as it is for me to experience a visit to this shelter home, it was even harder to see how these young girls are treated. Of course things are not perfect, but they could be better.
Firstly it was especially infuriating to find out that the very shelter home that was supposed to be the safe space for survivors of teenage pregnancy becomes an institution that perpetuates self-blame by using religion. While it is true that strong religious background does reduce someone’s involvement in premarital sex, but even that does not gruarantees that they will always practice abstinence. Especially when young people have inadequate knowledge about sex education. One can go on and talk about how sinful it is to have pre-marital sex. Or how it is too late when you conceive a child out of wedlock. The word ‘mistake’ was repetitively mentioned by the girls that we interviewed. They were conditioned to But honestly this will only further perpetuates the mindset on survivors that they are a problem, a disgrace and a bad Muslim. When the notion of sinners were repetitively mentioned on a daily basis, it was only natural that survivors internalised it. Hence when such a thinking is internalised, it is especially hard for a person to move forward in life. Shelter homes are supposed to provide the necessary mental and psychological support for survivors to help prepare them to survive once they leave the shelter. Internalised self-blame will make it hard for survivors to move forward in life as they are going to live their life haunted by the same guilt.
Secondly, too much emphasis is given to religious aspects as a way to ‘correct these girls’ or to ‘return to the right path’. On a daily basis, they have a very strict schedule to follow as arranged by the matriarch. Most of them have a lot to do with religious classes, zikir programs and reciting the Quran. Apart from packed religious classes day and night, they also have to take care of their babies. Since babies also wake up at night because of their different sleep cycle, this will adversely affect their mother’s rest time. Young girls in this house have little to almost no sleep or rest given the packed schedule and their responsibility as a mother. While most people would agree that seeking God in times of hardship can be helpful in navigating difficult times, leaving other aspects that these girls need is not good either. For example, access to mental health support was glaringly absent. When asked about this, the matriarch’s answer was that they do arrange a motivational talk at least once a month. Even that is questionable as a mental health support since she did not elaborate further on the contents. Having gone through pregnancy at such a young age is definitely traumatising. Interventions are definitely needed to address this problem. Some of them even required professional mental health support and the shelter did not think that it is of equal importance like that of religious intervention. These girls were made to shove down their trauma and to not talk about this even with one another as it is considered as ‘aib’ or a shameful matter. We only found this out when talking with the survivors and the matriarch of the house.
While it is true that we should not lump all shelter homes as the same and that one shelter does not reflect the other, there is always room for improvements. Shelter homes should not be another place to impose indoctrination of strict religious interpretation on survivors of teenage pregnancy. By the standard of religion, they should not be conditioned to believe that their body is now impure and their sin will never leave them. Thereby haunting them for the rest of their lives. The last thing that a shelter home should do is to further demonise these survivors.
This MOJO content was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union, Internews,or SOLS 247 or NGOhub.