WHEN I came across the article "Tudung-clad teens who are hooked on sex" (The Star, Jan 5), I was left shocked, appalled and outraged to read about the adolescent females who unashamedly admitted that they find having sex at a young age fun.

My heart breaks for them, and I cannot help but wonder what drove them to behave in such a way.

Just when I thought sex-saturated culture among teens only happens in Western and so-called advanced societies, I learn that it is now happening in the country.

However, I would like to argue that this problem does not just affect Muslim, tudung-clad girls but also other girls in Malaysia, regardless of skin tone, appearance, ethnicity, socio-economic status, family background or religion. It could be any girl, be it a straight-A student or even the neighbour's sweet daughter.

To read about a 15-year-old girl confessing that the terms "pure" and virgin do not exist among her friends, and also having the gall to say "What is wrong if my friends and I want some fun and have sex while we are still young?" is unacceptable and frightening.

These girls think they have grown up enough to indulge in pre-marital sex when in actual fact, they are children who are abused and exploited as sex objects.

Do they not realise that they are being used and they have been robbed of their innocence as well?

Why are they so stupid to think that having teen sex is ?cool? by ostracising their peers who are still virgins?

To the girls who stand their ground by not bowing to peer pressure and sex, I salute you for sticking to your principles. Keep it up and ignore those who make fun of you for sticking to your guns.

And to those who think having teen sex makes them "cooler" and more beautiful, they are just too stupid to realise they are actually ruining their own future.

It does not take a rocket scientist to tell us that when a teenaged girl indulges in sex, she is not only vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases but also to chauvinistic males who could take advantage of her.

If we want to combat the growing issues of promiscuity among adolescents, we should not blame the media and Western celebrities for glorifying the sex-saturated culture. Nor should we blame our Western counterparts for introducing this unacceptable behaviour as well.

Isn't it time we took a look at ourselves and did something to combat this problem?

We should be the ones to teach our children that they are human beings with dignity and self-respect and not mere sex objects.

Unless we do something right now, our younger generation will become sex-obssessed adults who will only bring downfall to our society.

STEFFIE YIN, Auckland, New Zealand.