13-year old 'virgin' delivers 2-kg baby

13-year old 'virgin' delivers 2-kg baby

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang

The bloodless birth of a baby girl to a 13-year-old last
weekend has been labeled as "a gift from God" by the new mother's
religious parents who say their daughter is still a virgin.

The young mother, Uswatun Hasanah (Wawah), a student at Putat
Islamic boarding school in Pasar Kemis district, was lying next
to her healthy, two-kilogram newborn when The Jakarta Post
visited her house in Kongsi Baru village, Mekarsari subdistrict,
Rajeg district, on Monday.

Wawah's father Yono, 44, an ustad (Muslim teacher) who runs
the Al Istiqomah boarding school with 50 students right in front
of his house, said that at first he had not been able to accept
his daughter's pregnancy.

However, he said that after his daughter swore to God and he
consulted with three local ulemas, he began to believe that she,
just like the Virgin Mary, was pregnant because of God.

He said that early this month, his wife Siti Khadijah and
Wawah attended Isra Mi'raj (the birth of prophet Muhammad)
ceremony at the boarding school. After the ceremony, Wawah
complained that she felt full, a feeling comparable to having
eaten too much.

The mother took her daughter to a midwife the following day
who said that Wawah was at least four-months pregnant.

The doubtful parents then took their daughter to Sari Asih
Hospital on Jl. Imam Bonjol in Tangerang, which confirmed the
pregnancy and told the parents the baby was six-month old.

Wawah said at about 8:30 a.m. on Saturday she felt nauseous
and as she crouched, the baby's head emerged. She was then laid
on the floor and uttered Allahuakbar (God is Great) twice and the
baby was delivered.

"I am not ashamed, I did not feel any pain, neither did
I bleed as the baby came out," she said.

Saenah, 90, a neighbor who usually helps women deliver babies
in the village, testified that Wawah was still a virgin and that
she did not bleed when she delivered the baby.

However, Achmad Chaerudin, a religious figure in Tangerang
suspected that the family had simply tried to hide the disgrace.

"Medically, there can be no pregnancy without sex," he told
the Post.

Lilim, 53, a local resident, said that she believed the birth
was because of God Almighty.

"I know that Wawah has never been touched by any man. I also
know how her parents educated her. As soon as she graduated from
elementary school, her father sent her to an all-women Islamic
boarding school."