DEBATE OVER SEX EDUCATION IN INDIA

There is a debate going on currently about the advisability of providing basic sex
education to school children in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The state education
minister had recently announced that sex education would be made compulsory.
However, this announcement is being greeted with heated opposition by other legislators
in the House.

Our legislators, once again, are displaying their head-in-the-sand mindset on the very
important issue of sex education - or lack thereof. They seem to be governed by the
dictum that if you ignore a problem, it does not exist - or, if it does, it will magically go
away. Perhaps the honourable gentlemen are not aware that, if one excludes some
countries in Africa, India has among the highest incidence of rape in the world.
Moreover, not a single day goes by without newspapers reporting at least one case of
sexual harassment or molestation.

People, especially teenagers, will have biological urges. That is a fact of nature; and one
that cannot be forcibly suppressed or wished away. Over-strict parents and our
burgeoning population of 'moral policemen' are not achieving the desired result by
portraying most interaction between the sexes as dangerous and sinful. On the contrary,
they are driving their progeny into sexual encounters they would otherwise avoid. It is the
classic forbidden fruit syndrome. It is forbidden, therefore it must be exciting. Ignorance
about even the basics of sex only adds to this malaise; and achieves no purpose - since
the 'victims' are likely to learn about it through a 'practical demonstration'.

The principal objection of our legislators is that sex education ignores the 'social and
cultural backgrounds of students in the state'. I find this curious and quite ludicrous. What
culture are they talking about? Is it the 7000 year old culture we like to brag about, where
the Kama Sutra was a major influence on the lives of ordinary people - and where the
statues in Ajanta, Ellora and Khajurao depict couples in postures far more 'obscene' that
youngsters kissing in a park. which seems to rouse the particular ire of our self-appointed
'moral guardians'? It is particularly ironical that even political parties who profess to be
the champions of Hindutva (Hindu nationalism) are displaying a conservatism usually
associated with their despised Muslim brethren.

Many people in India perceive Europe and America as decadent nations, where everyone
goes round sleeping with everyone else. Not only is this notion highly exaggerated, these
moralists may be surprised to know that incidents of STD, especially among teenagers,
are less prevalent than they are in India. One reason for this is that boys and girls, from a
very young age, mix socially and naturally. And when they grow up, they are friends
before they become sexual partners. There is none of this 'taboo' nonsense that is so
widespread in Indian society.

Not that anything is going to change, I'm afraid." Khandan ki izzat" (family honor) and
"what will people say" may be have become clichés in Hindi movies, but they are also
social realities. Appearances are paramount; and losing face is regarded as the biggest
calamity that could befall a family. And so, teenagers will continue to sneak off to
dangerous liaisons, while their parents remain content in their blissful ignorance.

(The Maharashtra state education minister had recently announced that sex education
would be made compulsory for schollchildren. However, this announcement is being
greeted with heated opposition by other legislators in the House.