- Poor small girls had No Choice, as Islam allowed their fathers/guardians to wed them even without their consent (link).
- Abu Bakr didn't ask for any consent from 'Aisha at the age of 6 years when she was married.
- Thus, those 9-year-old brides (or younger) had no choice. They were wed, and they were FORCED to give birth to babies at that age.
Let us look at the extreme dangers and harms to 9 years old mothers and their babies:
Extreme Dangers for teen mothers and their babies
1. Science says 25-30 is the age of least risk to mother and child for a first pregnancy:
https://www.pnas.org/content/113/19/5227
"With the onset of puberty, the female developmental trajectory diverges substantially from the childhood trajectory, whereas the male trajectory essentially continues its earlier course (Table S2). As a result, the female pelvis attains its obstetrically most favorable morphology around the age of 25–30 y, i.e., at the age of highest fertility"
2. The younger the mother, the greater the risk. Childbearing in adolescents aged 12–15 years in low resource countries: a neglected issue. New estimates from demographic and household surveys in 42 countries:
https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1600-0412.2012.01467.x
"It is frequently cited that girls who give birth aged 15–19 are more than twice as likely to die as those in their 20s (1, 2). However, this fails to capture the fact that risk increases with decreasing age. ......girls aged 15 or under had an odds ratio for maternal death four times higher than women aged 20–24. "
3. It is not just mortality, it's fistulas. Science says it is a problem:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3877393/
"In sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, obstetric fistula is very common, as access to and use of emergency obstetric care is limited ...... Several factors have been linked to the high occurrence of obstetric fistula in sub-Saharan Africa, including the preponderance of early marriage and teenage pregnancy, which in turn mean that the girls do not have pelvises which have sufficiently developed to allow reproduction [10]. This is further compounded by the poor nutritional status of most of the girls who live in these highly deprived settings [11,12]."
4. Aid workers confirm death and fistulas are the problems:
https://www.livescience.com/19584-10-year-birth.html
"The greatest danger, however, is to the pelvic floor. Girls may start ovulating and menstruating as early as age 9, though the average is around 12 to 13. ........ Just because a girl can get pregnant, though, doesn't mean she can safely deliver a baby. The pelvis does not fully widen until the late teens, meaning that young girls may not be able to push the baby through the birth canal. The results are horrific, said Wall and Thomas, who have both worked in Africa treating women in the aftermath of such labors. Girls may labor for days; many die. Their babies often don't survive labor either.
The women and girls who do survive often develop fistulas, which are holes between the vaginal wall and the rectum or bladder. When the baby's head pushes down and gets stuck, it can cut portions of the mother's soft tissue between its skull and her pelvic bones. As a result, the tissue dies, and a hole forms. Faeces and urine then leak through the hole and out of the vagina. Women with fistulas are often divorced and shunned. And young girls are at higher risk."
Children of teen mothers suffer dreadful health problems their entire life
The high mortality rate among children born to teen mothers is not the only issue; these children also endure other dreadful health problems throughout their entire lives.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teenage_pregnancy#Child
- Early motherhood can affect the psychosocial development of the infant. The children of teen mothers are more likely to be born prematurely with a low birth weight, predisposing them to many other lifelong conditions.[32]
- Children of teen mothers are at higher risk of intellectual, language, and socio-emotional delays.[30]
- Developmental disabilities and behavioral issues are increased in children born to teen mothers.[33][34]
- One study suggested that adolescent mothers are less likely to stimulate their infant through affectionate behaviors such as touch, smiling, and verbal communication, or to be sensitive and accepting toward their needs.[33]
- Poor academic performance in the children of teenage mothers has also been noted, with many of the children being held back a grade level, scoring lower on standardized tests, and/or failing to graduate from secondary school.[26]
- Sons born to teenage mothers are three times more likely to serve time in prison.[37]
Is all this Data Islamophobic?
Even early pregnancy of cattle is also not recommended
In livestock the rule of thumb is to start breeding at 150%-200% of the age of onset of menarche. Islam is just wrong in setting it at any age when the guardian thinks the girl will be OK having intercourse.
Goats:
https://www.boergoatprofitsguide.com/goat-breeding-age-whats-the-best-age/
“Boer does can be bred at 6 months. However, breeding the does before they reach the proper weight (generally around 80 pounds) can stunt their growth and lead to reproductive problems. A common age for breeding is between 10 and 12 months.Having does reproduce too early can lead to pregnancy or birth difficulties. The most common complication of a young doe giving birth is that of an abnormally positioned kid. This can lead to the death of both the kid and the doe.”
Cows/oxen:
https://www.wikihow.com/Know-when-a-Heifer-or-Cow-Is-Ready-to-Be-Bred
"Usually it's best to wait until they are at least 15 months of age before breeding. Even though the early maturing breeds do reach puberty by the time they are around 7 to 9 months of age, it is best to wait until they are around 13 to 15 months of age before you can breed them.\[1\] This is because it allows them to grow more, increase their pelvic area and gain enough condition that can allow them to sustain themselves throughout gestation. Heifers that are bred too early tend to have too small a pelvic area to calve out,"
Hassan Radwan