Sex Education: Where Are We?

“Did you read the story in today’s newspaper on the village women?” my wife asked me over tea. “No, what is it about?” I said. “It seems more than 30% of women in villages have engaged in sexual activity before they get married.” “Times have changed” I said. With globalization, there was hardly any difference between cities and villages in attitudes and practices. “Actually the rate might be lower in the cities because they cannot get the privacy necessary for such a thing.” If there was privacy easily available, you would not find couples seeking privacy along the wall at the beach, covering their heads with Dupattas. “That may be true. But that reminds me of a patient who came to see me the other day. She was quite worried.” My wife has family practice, and women tell her a lot of things they don’t tell us in the hospital. “She is 35 and single. She works in a government office. They had gone for an office picnic. They played tug-of-war, men versus women. The women were so strong they pulled the men over the line and that too so strongly that they fell on their backs and the men fell over them. My patient was the leader i.e. the first of her team. So the leading man fell over her. She came and asked me if anything would happen to her. She was quite worried, I can tell you. So I asked her if she was injured or was hurting anywhere. She said no. So I asked her what could happen to her that was so worrying. She said all her friends were telling her she would now get pregnant. I asked her if anything else had happened between them. She said no, but that all her friends were quite convinced she would get pregnant.” “My goodness! At 35, in Mumbai, she does not know how women get pregnant?” I was aghast. She must be watching the wrong type of television soaps and movies. “Why did the government oppose sex education in schools?” “Beats me” my wife said. “The other day I had another patient who came for treatment of infertility. They were married for two years. When I asked details, I discovered all they had been doing for two years was holding each other and kissing. They did not know what else could be done so that they would be blessed with a child.” I hope the health minister reads this and gets the education minister to include sex education in school curricula.