A while ago there was a debate in some internet forum regarding sex education in India. I posted my view back then. Today accidentally I found that, so posting here:
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Here we are confusing and mixing three different topics,
1. Sex Education
2. Sexuality and its bad consequences.
3. Sex Education before universal education or education to all.
and filtering only that which fulfills the campaigner's own stand point.
I personally don't consider the point 3 as a valid point at all, which is promoted by most of our friends here.
It is like, no air port building unless everyone has access to the road.
Is that valid?
Sure, everyone must have access to the road, but that cannot be an excuse to prevent building an airport. In fact it falls under Fallacious Arguments in logic science.
Now getting to the topic;
* What sex education means?
In simple words, sex education means "preparing a child/person for an active sexual life before that child actually involve in it".
Isn't that a proper definition of education? Don't we teach a pilot before asking to fly? Don't we teach an engineer before sending to a workshop?
* Why sex education is needed?
Here we have to understand and accept a very vital fact that we all get into this act of active sexual life of 30-40 years. We don't let someone do our minor household jobs without knowing it; but surprise! We ask people to go for sexual life without knowing it at all. What an irony! We act like it doesn't even exist. We expect people know it by themselves. How?
The pretext of HIV given by the government to introduce "Sex Education" is lame. Introduce it without any pretext or excuse.
* Does sex education promote perverted sexual behavior among students?
What can be more absurd than this?
Does 'understanding' something corrupts it or 'not understanding' it?
We have more perversion now, when we don't have a proper education.
Sure enough, the western countries too have the problem of rapes and HIV, so do we. Here we have to consider one major fact that when we read the data of sexual-offence among countries, we are tends to compare almost accurate data from developed countries with heavily under-reported data of ours.
The ultimate sexual-offence of rape is relatively rare; the biggest problem is eve-teasing. A woman cannot go out after certain hours, a woman cannot travel in buses, trains etc, without being harassed.
Sure enough, this type of eve teasing is specific to the countries lacking proper sex-education. Our friends living in developed countries can give a testimony of that.
I don't think this type of perversion (as, eve-teaching) is because of 'sex education', on a contrary it is because of 'lack of proper sex education'.
I am all for finding wrongs in the syllabus design, and making it proper for local needs. But discarding the whole idea on that base is illogical. It is like "I'll jump into water only when I know how to swim". You don't learn swimming without getting into the water. Sure, no need to jump into the ocean at first attempt, start it from a pool.
* Is proper sex-education against India Culture? Does it harm Indian Culture?
This excuse is given again and again, whenever there is a talk about Sex and Sexual behaviour.
How educations harm something?
To my understanding, if properly knowing something harms and eradicates some old myths; then myth should go, not the facts and education.
Do I need to remind that we wrote Kamasutra? What is that book other than Sex-Education?
How do we define Indian-Culture? This topic can take long discussion itself.
PS: I am appalled to see the campaigner giving example of Arabian countries, Pakistan etc.
Is that our benchmark?
Is that our future orientation?
Is that where we want to lead our country and societies?
Well, that’s my personal view, agree or not to agree is up to the individuals. But the bottom line is; knowing something, which we are bound to get into, is logical, beneficial, and good for individuals and society.
"Sex Education in India"
- Sex Education in India : santosh gairola blogs on sulekha, General blogs, santosh gairola blog from india (view on Google Sidewiki)
