IN TIMBUKTU a man and a woman get 100 lashes if they conceive a child out of wedlock.

They get severely whipped for something that couldn’t be more natural and are branded as outcasts by their leaders.

It’s hard to believe that this goes on – but it’s still something that is frowned upon in many communities all over the world.

I myself have experienced a negative attitude from Catholic priests - having had two children out of wedlock myself - and although I wasn’t ‘punished’ it was made clear that I was living in sin.

Next year I will be a wife (to the father of my children) but it won’t make me any more valued in today’s society – especially as recent figures show nearly half of children in the UK are born to unmarried parents.

The Office of National Statistics figures showed that 47.2 percent of the 723,913 babies born in England and Wales in 2011 were born to parents who were not married or in a civil partnership.

Look at the average classroom - it’s more or less the norm for most children in the UK to have a different surname to their mother or father.

And to be fair – I don’t think there is a lot wrong with this.

As long as the children are all happy and healthy, it’s good for them to know that it’s not a crime to have a mum and dad who aren’t married.

Your parents aren’t sinners – it’s called the 21st Century.