Why is Sex Education Important in India?

KAKALI DAS

“Can kissing cause pregnancy?”

“Is sex considered a sin?”

“Do women urinate from their vaginas?” – These questions might seem trivial to some, but for many Indians, they reflect genuine concerns. Why is this the case?

Sex is a topic that people in India and a few other countries often prefer not to discuss. This reminds me of a video by Lily Singh, a Canadian YouTuber and comedian about brown parents and sex education, where she jokes that the topic is like “a Windows update you keep avoiding until the system begins to fail.” While humorous, this situation can be quite serious.

Why is Sex Education Important in India? Image: Powershift

Time and again, Indian parents, educators, and politicians have united to oppose the implementation of sex education in schools, fearing it would corrupt young children and contradict traditional Indian values. They also fear it would lead to promiscuity and irresponsible behaviour.

In 2007, when the HRD ministry attempted to mandate sex education in schools, it sparked a significant uproar, leading several Indian states to impose bans on the subject.

In 2014, the then health minister, Harsh Vardhan publicly advocated for banning what he termed as vulgar or sex-positive sex education in schools, instead promoting abstinence. He stated, “Condoms promise safe sex, but the safest sex is through faithfulness to our partners.”

In February 2020, in what appeared to be a progressive step, the NDA government introduced a Health and Wellness Curriculum covering classes 6 to 10, which includes aspects of sex education. However, the curriculum avoids using the term ‘sex education,’ referring to it instead as ‘adolescence education.’ It also includes components on nutrition, sanitation, and substance misuse.

Since that announcement, there has been minimal public discourse on the effectiveness or implementation of the curriculum. Nevertheless, the necessity for sex education in India remains urgent.

A 2018 survey by Vitamin Street revealed that 45% of young urban Indians learned about sex before turning 13, and over 50% had engaged in sexual activity between ages 14 and 18. Despite these statistics, why is there opposition to educating young Indians about sex?

Paromita Chakravarti, a professor from Jadavpur University, has conducted an in-depth study revealing that Indian society’s resistance to comprehensive sexuality education dates back to the 19th century.

From the mid to late 19th century, the British started publishing moralistic sex manuals in vernacular Indian languages. These Victorian manuals advocated for abstinence and portrayed sex as a joyless necessity that married couples had to endure solely for procreation.

“The pleasure attached to this function is simply to ensure reproduction, nothing more, and should never be sought knowingly, for its own sake, never ‘indulged in’ by means or under any circumstances whatever. It is right, then, to exert the sexual function when children are desired, and rightly desired, and only then…” – Victorian Manuals

In India, the absence of sex education only serves to foster and potentially promote an unhealthy attitude towards sex. — The absence of sex education only serves to foster and potentially promote an unhealthy attitude towards sex. Image: Powershift

During the same period, a new form of Hindu nationalism was emerging, emphasizing the Brahmanical ideal of brahmacharya or celibacy as essential for achieving spiritual purity.

With Gandhi’s advocacy of celibacy, this connection between nationalism and the rejection of sex became even more pronounced.

While ideals such as celibacy were embraced as ancient Hindu practices, the texts propagating them were ironically often influenced by Victorian sexual norms.

Arpita Das, in “Sexuality Education in India: Examining the Rhetoric, Rethinking the Future” (2014), highlights that shortly after independence, India was among the few nations globally to implement a national Family Planning Policy in 1951.

However, instead of promoting a healthy approach to sex and sexuality, the state began to emphasize exercising sexual control or imposing restrictions.

Referring back to Paromita Chakravarti’s research from the 1990s, local resistance to globalization also manifested in opposition to sex education.

However, here’s the crucial point: A comprehensive sex education from a young age is essential for all Indians. Our sexuality is a fundamental aspect of our identity, and learning to understand and explore it safely should be integral to our education as individuals.

Research indicates that beyond understanding sex and sexuality, a sex-positive education can significantly influence other aspects of our lives by instilling values such as consent, negotiation, and effective communication.

Teens must be taught about sex education, including consent, the legal minimum age for sex, sexualities, and genital knowledge. Without proper education, curious kids might turn to the internet, where they could easily find incorrect information and potentially commit dangerous or harmful acts.

The absence of sex education only serves to foster and potentially promote an unhealthy attitude towards sex. This contributes to prevalent gender-based violence and non-consensual encounters, perpetuating an imbalance in who can freely seek and express sexual pleasure.

So, perhaps instead of removing that chapter from your Biology textbook and pretending that sex doesn’t exist, it’s time to begin discussing sex and sexuality from a young age. It shouldn’t be treated as ‘dirty’ or immoral conversation to avoid, but rather as an essential aspect of life to understand and discuss openly.

a paper with reproductive system parts — Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com

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