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.