Madhya Pradesh rightwing fuels anti-sex education drive

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Madhya Pradesh rightwing fuels anti-sex education drive

Posted May 27th, 2007 by TariqueIndia News By IANS

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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