May 27, 2007
Madhya Pradesh Rightwing
Fuels Anti-Sex Education Drive
Bhopal
The Madhya Pradesh government may have already banned sex education
in its schools, but rightwing groups have decided to go one step
further by distributing thousands of copies of a book that warns of
its dangers.
Even as India battles diseases like AIDS, over 10,000 copies of the
book titled "Red Alert", published by a Mumbai-based NGO, have been
distributed free of cost in the state.
Rightwing outfits like the Bajrang Dal, often accused of playing
moral police, have jumped in to lend a helping hand.
The book, authored by Jataiyu and published by Viniyog Parivar, not
only cautions readers against sex education in schools but also
describes it as the 'tsunami of Indian culture', said a government
school teacher who said he got the book from a Bajrang Dal activist.
The book emphasizes that a doctor needs to talk about sex, not a
teacher.
Outrage over sex education in schools, mainly among rightist
parties, has been prompted primarily by a flip chart of
illustrations used by teachers to explain the physical changes
experienced by teenagers during puberty.
Information in the curriculum on contraception and sexually
transmitted diseases also provoked anger, compelling the state in
March to stop sex education provided under the adolescent education
programme (AEP) in its present form in schools. The National Aids
Control Organisation funds AEP.
But the Bajrang Dal says the government ban is not enough.
"Awareness among people about the dangers of imparting sex education
to students at a young age is also crucial. Sex is natural and no
one can teach about it to children," said Dal leader Vishal Purohit.
"The book has been written by Ratnsunder Surishwar Maharaj who is
opposed to sex education like we are," said Jayeshbhai Desai, who
deals with the distribution of the book from Indore.
The Congress praty, which had earlier objected to sex education in
schools, has now changed its mind and urged the government to ban
the book.
"It is a serious matter. The government should ban the book. It is
against the union government's decision," said state Congress
spokesperson Manak Aggarwal.
Ironically, the controversy is raging in a state where 2,174 AIDS
patients have been identified. Of this over 40 percent belong to the
age group of 21-30 years. As per reports, nearly 75 percent people
get infected due to unsafe sex.
Said an activist working for the welfare of women and children in
the state: "Today you stop AEP, tomorrow you will say that teaching
biology should also be stopped because the books also contain
pictures of human anatomy more or less similar to the ones in the
study material in question."
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