I am not exactly surprised about this issue. Honestly, America and parts of Europe pretty much are one of the few countries that actually have structured laws set into place when it comes to statutory offenses and sex with "minors." Dig in...
((Via Bossip.com))
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Kordeza Zhelyazkova, an 11 year old girl from Bulgaria, just gave birth to her daughter, making her the world’s youngest mother. Flip the hood for more on this rare story.
While Kordeza and the baby are healthy and in high spirits, Jeliazko, the 19 year old father of the child, now faces six years in jail for having sex with a minor. The father says that he was fearful and really scared when he found out Kordeza was pregnant. He says they didn’t plan to have sex or a baby although he fell in love with Kordeza the moment he laid eyes on her.
He rescued the eleven year old from bullies who were bothering her at school. After which Kordeza arranged to meet the 19 year old young man and asked him out on their first date. The father of the 19 year old says he thought the girl was 15 and didn’t tell him she was 11. Here’s what Kordeza has to say about being a mom:
‘It feels strange to be a mum and have a baby. I used to play with my toys but now she is my new toy. She is so beautiful, I love her. Violeta is the child and I must grow up. I am not going back to school – I am a mother now.’ "
According to NYDailyNews.com - Kordeza went into labor during her wedding - where she was marrying her 19 year-old boyfriend. The couple is from Bulgaria - which I know nothing about, but he will be serving a six-year sentence if charged for having sex with a minor. She got pregnant two weeks after her 11th birthday - which really throws me for a loop. The father says he thought she was 15 - I don't think that makes it much better. My sister just turned nine last month, and in two years - I just can't imagine a grown man (essentially - that's what he is) having sex with her, much less falling in love with her and getting her pregnant.
I cringe when I think about her future - no education, no knowledge of the real world - now she's stuck with a child when she's really and literally a child herself. When I was eleven years old, I was planning to dress alike with my friends at school, I was crying over my math homework that I just couldn't understand - I was still trying to figure out where a penis went.
Then I wake up, and I remember - in a lot of non-American societies, children having sex this young is a norm. Thirteen year-olds get sold/married off to much older men, far older than nineteen - and have babies by the time they're fourteen and fifteen. Who's to say that not having a child at eleven wasn't just a fluke for them? Most of those girls never go back to school, and they end up having more children - perpetuating the poverty and ignorance that plagues so many of our countries. I don't know their economic standings - but statistics have shown that poorer communities tend to have children at younger ages - so I doubt they are in the wealthy bracket.
Quite frankly, I think this is an issue simply because of its shock value. When the fifteen minutes are up, society will move on to the next oddity. I doubt anyone will follow up and see how life treats her and her family.
If she had birthed eight children, on the other hand - she would have a t.v. show by now...
I was a tad mad at your approach to this news until you shifted your point of view in the last paragraph.
ReplyDeleteTheir customs are very different from those in the U.S. Although I in no way feel that the 11 year old, or even the 19 year old should have been having, I cannot sympathize.
She seems happy, and they got married. A big step towards taking responsibility for choices that they made.
I don't wish that the 19 year old father is sent to prison for 6 years, as it will only make the case worse. The child will be fatherless and pushed deeper into poverty. Who will go out and provide for the child?
Have you ever heard of Lina Medina? She had her kid at 5 years old. She's old, but still alive, and there are plenty contemporary 8 and 9 year olds on record. They are all alive too. So while Kordeza's case is peculiar, she definitely doesn't make for the youngest mother alive.
and P.S.-- She looks 15 to me.
I looked up Lina Medina - and I was surprised by her age. Five years-old? Incredible. It just goes to show how life can be in other countries.
ReplyDeleteTrust me, I wish the best for Kordeza - and I don't think the father should really go to jail, either - but how do we punish people for their wrongdoings if not? At nineteen, a fifteen year-old is not acceptable, either. Then again - it's not America.