Thailand struggles to curb high teen pregnancy rate

BANGKOK, Mar 9:  When Mallika told her parents she was pregnant at 17, they pulled her out of school and ordered her to marry the baby’s father. But the marriage didn’t happen and the one-time aspiring singer now cares for her baby girl alone. ‘I love her, but at the time I hid in shame,’ said Mallika, now 23 and a vendor of cheap, made-in-China clothing at a weekend market in Thailand’s capital, Bangkok. (agencies)