Stories of teenage mothers around the world

(Baonghean.vn) - Every year, around 2 million girls in the world give birth before the age of 15. In addition to health risks, giving birth too early will lead to school dropouts and affect future job opportunities. On the occasion of World Population Day on July 11 with the theme "Investing in teenage girls", we would like to introduce a photo series by photographer Pieter ten Hoopen telling the stories of teenage mothers in many places around the world.

Keya, 14 years old, Bangladesh

14-year-old Keya lives with her 21-year-old husband Jahangir and their 2-month-old son Rahim in a slum in Bangladesh. Keya and her husband fell in love and got married when she was 13. She almost died from blood loss during childbirth. Keya only went to school for 1 year because her family was so poor, the rest of the time she stayed home to help her parents with household chores.

Ana, 15 years old, Colombia

Ana, 15, lives with her four-month-old daughter, Karen, along with her parents and two older sisters in a notoriously violent neighborhood in Colombia. She became pregnant by her boyfriend when she was in eighth grade, but he ran away soon after. Ana suffered from preeclampsia in the third trimester of her pregnancy and was rushed to the hospital.

Aisa, 15 years old, Burkina Faso

A 15-year-old girl, Aissa, lives with her 13-month-old daughter, her mother, and two sisters in rural Burkina Faso. Aissa was sexually assaulted by her teacher and became pregnant. The teacher who assaulted her was only suspended for a year. Aissa said her teacher repeatedly called her privately and threatened her with trouble if she didn’t show up. She finally went to see her exam results and was raped.

Elianne, Haiti

Elianne lives with her father and two siblings in a camp for displaced people after the 2010 Haiti earthquake. She became pregnant with her boyfriend and had to drop out of school. Unfortunately, she gave birth 7 months prematurely and her son died at birth.

Amira, 15, Jordan

At just 15 years old, Amira has two children, Samer, 1 year old, and Amal, 12 days old. She lives with her husband in a Jordanian refugee camp. Amira dropped out of school early due to the war in her home country of Syria. She married at 13 and quickly gave birth to two children in the maternity hospital of the refugee camp. Amira said she had no free time to take care of her two young children and her husband.

Mulenga, 14 years old, Zambia

Mulenga, who lives with her daughter, parents, stepmother and 10 siblings in a remote village in Zambia, wanted to study to become a doctor but her dream was put on hold when she found out she was pregnant.

Thandiwe, 15, Zambia

Thandiwe said she was not ready to be a mother after having a child who is now 9 months old. She got pregnant when she was in 6th grade and wanted to become a chef working in the city. Then she met a boy in 9th grade, had sex and what had to happen happened. Thandiwe had to drop out of school, get married and live with her new family of young husband and small child.

Quan Le

(According to BBC)