A messy module

Sex education in India has been caught in a tangled web of widespread cultural and social misconceptions because of the negative connotations that usually surround its substance and delivery, writes Chandran Iyer.

Neha's mother (name changed) had reasons to worry. Her teenage daughter was missing her periods. "I am afraid she is pregnant," she told the gynaecologist at Pune's Sassoon Hospital, hoping against hope that her fears wouldn't come true.

The doctor had a look at the young girl and the latter's heart cringed. Neha was a wreck. She hung her head limply and tears welled up in her eyes as she grappled with an overpowering sense of shame, guilt and remorse.

The doctor examined her and the test confirmed that her mother was right. Neha was indeed pregnant. It came to light that she had developed a relationship with a boy in her neighbourhood.

Neha's is not an isolated case. In recent years, umpteen teenage pregnancies have been reported to gynaecologists across India, highlighting the fact that youngsters are getting into sexual relationships well before they are ready to understand the consequences of their act. "Out of every 100 cases of teen pregnancies that I come across, at least 10 per cent are in the age group of 13 to 15," says Dr Uma Wankhede, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at  Sassoon General Hospital.

She adds: "In many cases, teenage girls come to me with their boyfriends, with whom they have inadvertently had unprotected sex, seeking help to terminate unwanted pregnancies."

Unrestrained interactions with the opposite sex and easy access to pornographic literature, explicit internet sites and films with excessive sexual content, coupled with the inability of parents to give time to their children, have led to the rise in teen pregnancies. What makes matters infinitely worse is the lack of proper sex education in Indian schools.

The Union Government did make an attempt to introduce sex education for school children in 2007, but it proved to be an utter flop because the programme was handled in a very crude manner.

The decision to introduce sex education in schools was aimed primarily at creating awareness about HIV-AIDS and prevent unwanted teenage pregnancies. But the programme was opposed tooth and nail from many conservative quarters. Many women's organisations and religious groups as well as several politicians found the sex education module far too explicit and crude. They felt that instead of imparting education it would encourage permissiveness among teenagers.

As a result, more than 30 per cent of the states dumped the union government supported sex education programme. The Secondary School Teachers' Association in Uttar Pradesh even threatened to make a bonfire of books if sex education was not withdrawn immediately. They found the teaching aid or kit to be used for educating students to be too graphic and vulgar.

Not surprisingly, the government's move also came in for sharp criticism from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which runs thousands of schools in villages of India, on the grounds that such education would end up westernising India and destroying its social values.

Dr RA Bhosale, Professor and Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Sassoon Hospital, says: "One major problem with the concept of sex education is the nomenclature itself. The words have a negative connotation. Since sex gives rise to new life, the programme should be called life education so that the parents, teachers and students are more comfortable with it.''

Dr Bhosale points out that teenage pregnancy is fraught with high risk since the body of the girl is not mature enough to bear the strain of childbirth. "It may result in numerous complications while the child is being delivered. Excess bleeding and inability to withstand the labour pains could endanger the lives of both the mother and the child," he adds.
Other problems like pregnancy-induced hypertension and kidney malfunction could lead to severe convulsions. In teenage, pregnancy could also be abnormal, leading to excessive loss of blood. "Teenage pregnancy could make the girl susceptible to cancer," says Dr Bhosale.

Dr Girija N Wagh, Professor and Head of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Bharati Vidyapeeth, says that teenagers are in a transition phase of their lives where their  hormone levels fluctuate frequently, giving rise to emotional problems like mood swings, bouts of excitement and heightened feelings.

"Girls want to see the mirror frequently and examine their own growth and beauty. Boys want to go to the gymnasium, develop and develop their muscles so that they look good. These are vulnerable times and parental guidance is very important to them. If parents do not give them the attention they need at this point of time then they seek solace elsewhere and often get misguided by peer pressure," she says.

Dr Ritu S Santwani, a Pune-based Gynaecologist, says: "The problem of teen sex is becoming very serious especially in big cities. There has been an approximately 40 per cent increase in incidence of teenage pregnancies. In metro cities, due to the rapid growth of the IT industry (BPOs, call centres, etc), a large number of youngsters have come into the workforce.” They have erratic work timings and are tech-savvy and often develop an addiction to pornography. "They want to experiment with what they watch on the internet and in movies. All this can have grave consequences for their lives," he adds.