A School of Hope

Young people in Malaysia, especially Muslims, are expected to keep sexual abstinence until marriage. However, if teenagers break the rule of abstaining and get pregnant, they are not even allowed to take abortion in Islamic tradition. Consequently, the shame of giving birth out of wedlock and the lack of anywhere to turn for help and advice cause numerous pregnant young girls in Malaysia to take the only solution they see before them: to abandon their babies. In 2010, for example, it is estimated that 70 unwanted babies was dumped in the streets, trash bins, public toilets and on doorsteps.

The stigma of pre-marital sex has even driven a 28-year-old woman, Mila, to give up her baby 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.

In light of the stigma of pre-marital sex and the horrible amount of abandoned babies in Malaysia. The chief minister of Malacca, Mohammed Ali Rustam set up the first school for pregnant adolescents in Malaysia, Sekolah Harapan, or School of Hope, in September 2010.

The idea of the school is to provide education for pregnant girls, who need not stop their education due to their pregnancy and who will be shielded from the shame and gossip they would experience in their original schools. They will carry on their learning in privacy until they give birth and then they can return to their mainstream schools.

Sekolah Harapan, or School of Hope is run by the Malacca Islamic Affairs Department. The school not only provides students normal courses that are the same in junior high school from 2^nd grade to 5^th grade, it also gives pregnant girls dormitory to live which named Rumah Harapan, or Home of Hope. In School of Hope and Home of Hope, students also receive religious, maternity healthcare counseling, medical check-ups and skills training such as cooking and baby-caring courses for the preparation of how to be a mother and a wife in the near future. When students return to the dorm after classes end at school, they would receive different kinds of counseling which mainly encourages them to face social perspectives and deliver children with great bravery.  

            The abovementioned treatments, tuition, fee of dorm and even students’ deliveries are all provided by the Malacca Islamic Affairs Department. In a state where reside many Muslims, the chief minister of Malacca, Mohammed Ali Rustam, bravely takes the initiatives to provide a refuge for pregnant teenage girls. The School of Hope is not merely a hope for the mothers and the babies; it is also a hope for the whole country, the sprouting consciousness for the rooted Islamic traditions little by little.  

References:

1.Pak, J. (2010). School for pregnant teenagers opens in Malaysia. Retrieved November 25, 2013 from BBC News Asia-Pacific: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11339676.

2.Tawfiq, I. (2010). A School of Hope?. Retrieved November 25, 2013 from OnIslam .net: http://www.onislam.net/english/family/gender-issues/education-for-life/449363-a-school-of-hope.html.

Reflection

Zoe & Ivy: At first, Ivy mentioned that she would like to use a relevant movie in her annotation 3. I think it was not convincing enough since usually in annotation 3, we should try to utilize foreign examples to deepen one’s points of view. I think maybe Zoe and Ivy can change their order of annotations if they still decide to use the movie .

Cassie & Vincent: In their annotation 3, they wanted to do some research on the foreign examples of undeclared major. I think it was really good because in their annotation 2, they used information from authoritative authors, each one of their annotations went further and deeper in their main points. I have to learn from their skills and write my next annotation with deeper perspective.

Perly & Joanne: They originally planned to interview high school students about their views toward uniforms. Professor Liang then answered that that was useless interviewing high school students because what they thought resembled what college students thought. Her answer actually shocked me because she immediately cut to the point. What we need to do was find as many views as possible. For Perly and Joanne, they could probably probe into the origin of uniforms and talks about the uniform differences between distinct companies. I think their annotations would be interesting. From their discussion, I also realize that to write an amusing article is as significant as writing a convincing one.

Ruby & Emma: At first, we planned to use a book which talks about the moral problems of abortion in annotation 3. And my annotation 4 was originally about the physical harm after women taking abortion. However, after discussing with Professor Liang, she suggested that since our annotation 1 and 2 were about what happens in Taiwan, in the annotation 3 and 4, we can start to find examples in foreign countries. For instance, people who live in a Catholicism country cannot take abortion. And we can take a look at foreign laws about whether abortion is legal or not. It is definitely not convincing enough when we only talks about what happens in Taiwan and ignore global eyeshot.    

Kevin & Alice: In Kevin’s annotation 1, about his resource, he didn’t know the author and his or her background. I think this was a pity as actually he wrote a good article and made his idea clear in annotation 1. As for Alice, I like her idea to find resources from TED. Many famous people or people who specialized in specific fields were invited to have a talk on TED. This one was quite impressive and deepened her points of views.  

Revised Annotation (1)- The Unborn Precious Lives

In this video, a student called Lin Lin says that if she is pregnant, she will deliver her child because it is a life and she is reluctant to give it up. She will also be afraid of the unborn child following her after she takes abortion. The host then asks her, “ If the child’s father and you haven’t built a steady relationship, what will you do? ” Lin Lin says,“ It’s ok. I can take care of the baby by myself. And my parents also think that if I get pregnant accidentally, I should deliver it because abortion is harmful to female’s body and the baby is a life. Even the father cannot take care of it now, in the future, probably there will be another man who is willing to accept this child.”

However, Dr. Chen says that university students are special cases. Their ages range from 18 to 22. They have higher knowledge background. Many students would find ways to solve the pregnant problems by themselves. Accordingly, they do not have exact statistical data about the rate of pregnancy among college students. However, he shares another data. According to the rough estimation form Taiwan Association of Obstetrics and Gynecology, every year, the average amount of abortion is twice as much as the amount of childbirth. That is to say, last year, the fertility amount was 170 thousand and the amount of abortion would be around 340 thousand. According to this ratio, among the 340 thousands aborted babies, he believes that there were 60 to 70 thousand babies aborted by mothers aged around 18 to 22 years old.

The statistical data is extremely shocking. In my point of view, life is so precious that everyone should take the abortion issue more seriously. About the mental aspect, in the video, Lin Lin says that she will be afraid of the unborn child following her after she takes abortion. Abortion may cause eternal mental fear and trauma to the person taking it. And it also harms women’s body. Since, university students would find ways to solve pregnant problems by themselves, they may buy miscarriage medicine from unreliable or illegal sources and may accidentally find an unreliable doctor to conduct an abortion surgery. If the baby in the uterus is not moved out completely or during the process of abortion, the doctor hurts the endometrium, it will lead to infertility forever.

To sum up, university students should not take abortion because it affects both mental and physical health toward women. Besides, nowadays the abortion rate is too high compared with the fertility rate in Taiwan, we are responsible for stopping this trend in order to protect each precious life.

source:

ctitv.(2011). 5/3 College Talk- If College Students Are Pregnant (Part 1). 

Retrieved October,10,2012, from youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwLTQHKwtGQ

Revised Annotation (2)- The Amended Article 26 of University Act

College students may be doubtful and think that if they or their lovers are pregnant, should they give up their current studies as well as colorful university lives in order to give birth to their babies and raise them when they finally make a decision to accept their children instead of taking abortion? As a matter of fact, they need not sacrifice their studies.

Article 26 of University Act was amended in 2008 by Ministry of Education and the amended Article 26 allows college students, both females and males, to extend their studying term due to pregnancy, childbirth and childcare. As a result, college couples can apply for temporary suspension of study in order to earn money to raise their children. Giving birth does not mean college students should totally give up everything including their studies for their children.

Before Article 26 of University Act was corrected, most college students can only apply for temporary suspension of study for at most 2 years. However, it takes a mother at least one and half year to go through the pregnant period, deliver her baby, take postpartum staycation and breastfeed. If a mother wants to continue looking after her youngster, it may go beyond 2 years, which is the limited length for temporary suspension of study.

Fortunately, according to the revised Article 26 of University Act in 2008 , ''A student pursuing a bachelor degree or above may request for prolonging the studying term on account of pregnancy, childbirth, or childcare for the toddler under three years old. '' Moreover, The Act is suitable for both males and females.

In terms of the academic rules of NCU, Reg.40 notes that students can apply for temporary suspension of study because of pregnancy, childbirth, or childcare for the toddler under three years old. The accumulated suspension length is limited to 4 years. The period of suspension will not be taken into account for the total suspension length. Upon the termination of the suspension period, the birth certificate of the student’s child and relevant documents will be used to apply for resumption of study.

All in all the revised version of Article 26 of University Act ensures students’ right to education and at the same time offer them time to take care of the toddler and earn money to support the economic needs for raising a child and a family during the temporary suspension of study.

 sources:

1.Ministry of Education, University Act. (2009, Nov 18). Retrieved October 28, 2013 from the Ministry of Education: http://edu.law.moe.gov.tw/EngLawContent.aspx?Type=E&id=24

2.National Central University, General Rules and Regulations. (2010, July 19).

Retrieved October 29, 2013 from National Central University:http://www.ncu.edu.tw/~ncu7020/english/International/files/GENERAL%20RULES%20&%20REGULATIONS.pdf

Transcript (1)

Emma &Ruby: Hello, everyone.

R: I am Ruby.

E: I am Emma.

E&R We are going to talk about ‘’Should University Students Take Abortion.’’

R:And I think University students should not take abortion.

E: And mine is the opposite.

R: Emma, I got a secret to tell you.

E: What is the secret?

R: I…I am pregnant.

E: Pregnant? Who is the father?

R: Of course my boyfriend.

E: Well, so what will you do?

R: I think I want to deliver my child. Because life is so precious that nobody can give it up. Everyone should cherish every life. And many couples around the world have difficulty getting a baby. They may desperately try many medical methods such as conducting artificial insemination. The process is costly, and prolonged but is not 100 percent successful. And the average amount of abortion is twice twice as much as the amount of childbirth. That means if there are 170 thousand children given birth, there will be 340 thousand children killed because of abortion. So can you guys imagine that such a cute baby is killed during the process of abortion? I can’t endure the pain.

E:Well, okay, But I think you should consider whether you can face these problems. So I want to ask a question to you: do you make money for yourself? And for the living expense? If you do, please raise your hand. You supporting yourself. Living expense, that means you don’t ask money from your family. Okay, so how about you?

R: I take money from my parents.

E: See~~ So most of students do not have enough money for supporting themselves, not to mention to support their kids, even they can go to work, I think their basis of financial capacity is still not enough for the unexpected baby. And if the boy doesn’t want to be responsible to the baby, then the girl has to shoulder the burden by her own self, and I think it also bring another problem, is the family and marriage. If the couple wants to build up a family, I think the relationship between college students is still not steady enough, and if they just get married because their child, then I think it probably will be the problem when they want to get divorced.

R: You talk about economical problems. And in my annotation 2, the Article 26 of University Act was amended in 2008. It mentions that a student pursuing a bachelor degree or above may request for prolonging the studying term on account of pregnancy, childbirth, or childcare for the toddler under three years old.As for our school, the academic rules of NCU, Reg.40 notes that students students can apply for temporary suspension of study because of pregnancy, childbirth, or childcare for the toddler under three years old. And the accumulated suspension length is limited to 4 years. The period of suspension will not be taken into account for the total suspension length. So students can stop their studies at college. And they have more time spending with their child and have more time earning money in order to support the economic needs for a child and for the whole family.

E: So you and your boyfriend will make up a family?

R: I think if my boyfriend doesn’t want our child, I will immediately break up with him and raise the child by myself.

E: okay, but even you can accept that your boyfriend doesn’t want to have the child, and you can be the single parent, I still think that you think whether you are prepared, is mature enough to face the unexpected baby. I think the most important is that you have to face the mental stress. I think you have to face the change of identity, and you have to face the stress from the family, because maybe your family cannot accept that you get pregnant under no marriage, or the school, peers, maybe your peers will throw the strange eyes to you. It is in my annotaiton2, about the impact to mothers.

R: Ok, but if finally I try my best to raise my child and find out that I have , Idon’t have enough ability to raise my child, maybe I can take adoption into my consideration. Moreover, abortion is really harmful to women’s body.It can lead to infertility because the child in the uterus is not moved out completely. And doctor, the doctormay also hurt the endometrium. So, to sum up, I want to give… I want to deliver my child because life is so precious. I can apply for temporary suspension of study to earn money for my child. And abortion is harmful to women’s body. It can lead to infertility forever.

E: In my opinion, I think that some people think taking abortion is immoral, but I think they do not really understand how stressful and serious it is. We just think the baby is innocent, we should also consider the impact to mothers. My conclusion is that girl should think twice that whether she is get ready for the baby, because you cannot give up when you don’t want to be the mother. And if you cannot overcome these problems, I think you really should take abortion to the consideration. 

R: No way!

E＆Ｒ：Thank you for your listening. J