i care

to say that i was shocked to read the news about 11-year-old mothers is an understatement. just like Camarie from Cameron Highland who wrote a letter to The Star in response to this news, i was more surprised to see that the deputy minister was more concerned about the births going unregistered. come on, these are human lives we're talking about, all those paperworks have to take the backseat.

i think most of you know that having sex with a minor below the age of 16 is a crime, but i have met some people who are married before the age of 16 and nothing is being done about that. i'm sure you can distinctively remember about that budding singer Azreen who was married at the age of 15 (some reports claimed that she was 16 at that time, but i remember reading articles that claimed otherwise). did we hear any arrest?

no.

so, to satisfy my thirst for knowledge, i promptly googled "youngest mothers" and surprise, surprise, there's a wiki page about it. can you believe that the youngest birth mother in medical history was only 5 years old when she gave birth? (i'm pretty sure most of you already know this, even my 16-year-old brother knows this. i'm ashamed). this is beyond mind-boggling.

i don't think i knew anything about carnal intercourse when i was 11 years old, let alone 5. i think i still didn't understand anything about sex when i was 15. oh well, anything beyond the science textbook anyway. really. i'm not lying. don't give me the side eye!

that reminds me of a story Lily told me about this one episode on House. well, if i'm not mistaken, the story went like this. this girl was having abdominal pains and her mother took her to see a doctor. after undergoing some tests, the doctor confirmed that the girl was pregnant. so, what was the issue? the girl was only 11,12 years old and she hasn't had her menses yet. anyone, if i'm wrong, please tell me the real story, ok? i googled "house pregnant girl not menstruating yet" and i got zilch.

when i first heard it, i thought that television had brought the word "fiction" to a whole new level, but i was wrong! it can happen! a girl can get pregnant even without experiencing the menarche (my word of the week).

okay, i need a cup of coffee. 6.30am is too early for this shit.

more on Lina Medina
scienceroll
snopes
TIME magazine

i believe that the people at TIME are a sceptical lot. i've read somewhere that it's possible for a girl to menstruate regularly at age 5 or below. a comment on scienceroll confirmed it.

more on precocious puberty
wiki

oh well, i know you won't read this, but i just wanted to share.