Importance of Sex Education

By Hira Akram

Every single thought has its own pros and cons. As long as any word, or any topic, is considered to be a taboo, and not mentioned, the weightage of its cons will be heavier.

If people aren’t talking about something, it means they lack confidence and courage, or the knowledge required, to say it to everyone, and they may unintentionally be instigating the cause by keeping their mouth shut.

Why should we lack courage to talk about a universal truth?

“Everyone does it, but nobody talks about it”, is a sentence we most commonly hear. Just because of the upsetting fact that we don’t talk about it, the ‘taboo’ topic branches out to various other issues.

Pakistani society is extraordinarily sensitive; people, because of lack of education, lack of courage, lack of senses to differentiate between right or wrong, remain reserved, and consequently falls into troubles. Apparently, it’s not even their mistake, because if someone out there feels to draw attention towards the issue there is no one to support their thoughts, or their idea, of promoting a topic which badly needs to be highlighted.

Sex Education is a topic that makes most of the people in our society uncomfortable. There are two sides of this ‘coin’, and each side is equally destructive.

Teenagers are less informed about sexual health and contraceptive measures because sexual health education is still a cultural taboo. Every now and then we hear stories of girls getting themselves into trouble due to lack of precautions. It’s not only about what is your age, or whether you should be doing it or not. It’s just simply a matter of fact that basic education about preliminary precautions or knowledge about the consequences you might drive into if you don’t keep yourself aware about it, is crucially important.

According to a recent study it was revealed that huge number of abortions were conducted in Pakistan. Almost all these abortions were clandestine and the health and lives of women were at risk throughout the process. There were 50 abortions per 1000 women aged 15-49.

It is unfair and unjust to take a life just because you were not aware of the consequences of your actions. If only these women whose age group as defined ranges between 15-49 were given education in the school, they would have known about the do’s and don’ts and would have stayed aware of the subject. Instead, we decided to stay quiet and let innocent lives taste the bitter reality of this world.

The other side of the coin is no less terrible. Due to less knowledge about the precautionary measures that are to be taken, teens and adults fall into the pits of incurable diseases, which drags them to the door of death. I’m talking about HIV, the death itself. To me, in other words, it is suicide; you’re just killing yourself slowly and gradually instead of taking it all at once. You claim your life yourself and also of the other person involved with you.

Therefore, it is important to inculcate sex education in schools curriculum in our country, so that students of an age before stepping into any harmful act, may know why this can be a disaster for them. Every school should incorporate sex education in syllabus, and make it mandatory for every student to learn and understand why it is said that there’s always a right time for everything and before that if we try doing it, it can be destructive.

And, why to make a big deal out of it? Why it can’t be just so simple and simply acceptable to teach our kids about what it is right for them and what is not, or how to keep themselves safe for the rest of their lives? Our kids have the right to know that the things that amaze and fascinate them during their teenage, can also destroy their lives, if appropriate care is not taken.

We avoid talking to our kids about it that maybe a liberty or boldness in conversation to this extent might turn our kids to rebels, but why we don’t see the fact that if something is openly shared with them from the beginning and you’re being told about the inside and out of it, their maturity level increases, and they get in a position where they can take considered and informed decisions.

Engaging children of all genders and sexual orientations in positive models of consent that is, talking about consent from the perspective of intimacy and mutual pleasure can not only empower students to assert their sexual boundaries, but teach them a deep and meaningful respect for the boundaries of others.

The contributor is an MBA student at IoBM, Karachi. She works at Danpak Food industries Pvt (Ltd) as Assistant GM Sales.