Illegitimate Pregnancy in Malaysia
Title: Illegitimate Pregnancy
Problem statement
According to the Reproductive Rights Advocacy Alliance of Malaysia (RRAAM), “Illegitimate pregnancy is not socially acceptable due to society’s religious view.”
Illegitimacy is not a widely used word today, and young people may not even recognize it as an insult. The term designated unmarried mothers, unmarried fathers, and their unlucky children as deviants. All were called “illegitimate,” and illegitimate children were sometimes also called “bastards.” As a label, illegitimacy described their collective status as outcasts who were legally and socially inferior to members of legitimate families headed by married couples.
Young people are not included in national demographic and health surveys. Due to religious and political reasons, it is not acknowledged that more youth are becoming sexually active before marriage. According to the National Population and Family Development Board, in a survey among secondary school students, although only 2.4% admitted to have had sex, 20.7% of the respondents said they knew of friends who had premarital sex, 21.2% knew of friends who had illegitimate pregnancies and 10% had friends who had undergone abortions.
Women and girls becoming pregnant through incest and rape is on the rise in Malaysia. In 2006, there were 2,431 reports of rapes compared to 1,479 in 2003 (statistics, Royal Malaysian Police). It is estimated globally that only 10% of all rape incidents are reported due to stigma and fear so the incidence is much higher. As marital rape is not acknowledged, the figure excludes married women who are raped. Although emergency contraception (Postinor) is available from private health sector doctors and pharmacies, it is not widely known nor used to prevent unwanted pregnancies.
Research Questions
1. What are society’s opinions about illegitimate pregnancy? 2. How illegitimate pregnancy does happen? 3. How illegitimate pregnancy affects culture?
Problem statement
According to the Reproductive Rights Advocacy Alliance of Malaysia (RRAAM), “Illegitimate pregnancy is not socially acceptable due to society’s religious view.”
Illegitimacy is not a widely used word today, and young people may not even recognize it as an insult. The term designated unmarried mothers, unmarried fathers, and their unlucky children as deviants. All were called “illegitimate,” and illegitimate children were sometimes also called “bastards.” As a label, illegitimacy described their collective status as outcasts who were legally and socially inferior to members of legitimate families headed by married couples.
Young people are not included in national demographic and health surveys. Due to religious and political reasons, it is not acknowledged that more youth are becoming sexually active before marriage. According to the National Population and Family Development Board, in a survey among secondary school students, although only 2.4% admitted to have had sex, 20.7% of the respondents said they knew of friends who had premarital sex, 21.2% knew of friends who had illegitimate pregnancies and 10% had friends who had undergone abortions.
Women and girls becoming pregnant through incest and rape is on the rise in Malaysia. In 2006, there were 2,431 reports of rapes compared to 1,479 in 2003 (statistics, Royal Malaysian Police). It is estimated globally that only 10% of all rape incidents are reported due to stigma and fear so the incidence is much higher. As marital rape is not acknowledged, the figure excludes married women who are raped. Although emergency contraception (Postinor) is available from private health sector doctors and pharmacies, it is not widely known nor used to prevent unwanted pregnancies.
Research Questions
1. What are society’s opinions about illegitimate pregnancy? 2. How illegitimate pregnancy does happen? 3. How illegitimate pregnancy affects culture?