Teenage pregnancy

Manama : The Syrian girl who recently gave birth at a private hospital here, was proven to be over 16 years of age according to medical reports, Mardhiya Hassan, Family and Child Prosecution Chief  Prosecutor confirmed yesterday.

The announcement comes few days after the girl’s father and husband claimed she was 15 and not eleven as mentioned in both her birth and marriage certificates. The Chief Prosecutor said that examination results showed the girl to be above the age of 16.

“Regarding the eleven-year-old Arab national who gave birth at the American Mission Hospital recently, the Public Prosecution ordered for the examination of the mother and
medical reports showed that she is
above the age of 16, despite what has been mentioned in previous investigations and reports,” the official said in a statement issued yesterday.

She also mentioned that “investigations are continuing and further procedures to refer the mother and her child to the Child Protection Centre are in progress, so as they would receive the necessary psychiatric and social care”. 

DT News reported earlier that, a  pregnant child was brought to a private hospital in Manama on
November 10 . 

Health and Interior Ministries officials refused to comment on the matter back then. The Ministry also denied local reports about the girl being denied treatment at Salmaniya Medical Complex. 

The Public Prosecution further confirmed that both the husband and father of the girl are being held pending investigations, without revealing what charges they could be facing.