Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Moral Policing: Just ban/ don't implement anything against "Indian" values.

Yes, it’s long time since I wrote post. Being a married working woman is not an easy job you see :-) There are lots of perks to it too. Just the thought that someone is waiting only for me at home makes me smile and go home. Anyway that’s not the subject of the post.

It started with Madhya Pradesh,
followed by Karnataka, and now even Maharashtra seems to think on the same lines. AND THE STUPIDITY CONTINUES…

  • Basic question: Why are we being so hypocritical? What is there to “hide” in this? These kids will anyway come to know about it through TV and Internet. Why ban the “legal” means of communication?
  • Denial: For heavens sake, grow up :-) What makes these people think that the kids won’t indulge in it if it is not taught in school? Infact curiosity will lead to more dangerous situations!
  • Biological Vs Moral: Somebody wise said, “Half Knowledge is more dangerous than no knowledge at all.” Why don’t we teach our kids the “complete” process? Let us for the time being, forget about the morality aspect of it. It’s always debatable. And there are parents who will/should take care about teaching proper moral values to the kids. Let the school just teach the biological aspect of it.
  • Safety: Most of the children, who indulge in such activities for whatever reasons, fun, money or any other thing, have no clue about safe sex practices. So AIDS and other STDs are spreading like wild fire! Isn’t it more prudent to tell our children about the safe-practices so that they don’t expose them-selves to danger?
  • Prevent Abuse: We have heard of many cases, where the children don’t even realize that they are being sexually exploited. This is because they have very little knowledge about these things. How will a small child know what parts of the body can be touched and what are really private and not be encroached upon?
  • Alternatives: They say yoga should be taught in place of sex education. It upholds Indian values more it seems! Why should yoga be an “alternative”? Why can’t yoga be a part of the curriculum along with sex education? Lets accept some basic facts here, teenage children are by nature distracted … you make them meditate, they will meditate about something else altogether! We are asking teenage children to control their minds and urges when we haven’t been successful in making grown up men and women to do the same?


Besides, I think even if the political parties play their stupid politics, the parents should take the onus and give some basic awareness to their children, with child molesters lurking around just about everywhere; we owe this to our children and school goers.

Let sex education begin at home. Let’s keep our children safe.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very nice post.
Good news that only three states have taken it back. It was very much expected, to take it back. First of all sex education in India itself a big surprise.
Even in this century we can’t expect much from States. They simply represent its subjects. If you take a survey today I guess more than 75% parents are not comfortable with word “sex education”.

The last sentence is very much true. When I was kid “sadhu ram“ kind of books where available for fifth graders. Kids have little idea about the stories and the photos are about. Immediate next Human structure information they get is ninth grade, that too if science teacher is not shy. In this age if some one can help is their parents. Only they can help to give proper social ( and scientific ) definition of enormous amount of information kids collected ( and assumed ) their selves.

Arshad said...

Hi ! I liked your conviction and the simplicity in your thoughts.

Especially your last comments about beginning sex education at home. Please go through this interesting link on the same topic

http://www.soundvision.com/Info/education/sex/12tips.asp

Also may I kindly invite you to visit my blog
http://justlybalanced.blogspot.com

My latest post is about ban on sex education. My views differ a little from yours...

Warm regards
Arshad

Kavi said...

Convincing conviction ! Well articulated.

Sex education is such a must. Kids must know. Knowledge dispels misconceptions!

Anonymous said...

very well said.
as they say, curiosity killed the cat.
have written on the same topic.

unfuel the planet said...

you shield someone in a cocoon for too long.. and it will rot.
no wonder the incest and domestic rape rates in India are among the highest in the world.

Shark said...

@bachodi: welocome here :)

-"that too if science teacher is not shy"

See, even if it is there in the curriculum teachers are shy to impart the knowlegde. Can't blame them though becasue they are not trained to do so!

Prof. U.R Rao said a very interesting point, he said just like we have specialised physics teacher and maths teacher... we should also have a proper trained sex educator. Otherwise the purpose ofthe education will be totally lost!

@arshad: Are you the Arshad I know? Anyway welcome here :)

I have to agree with your views too... that's why said in reply to bachodi's comment that we need to have specialists to impart this knowledge.. so that they just explain the biological aspect along with the moral aspect. The purpose of such education is mainly to prevent abuse.

Our children will have good home atmosphere and I hope that they will come and tell us if something unusual happened with them... But do you think the children of slum people will go back to their parents? This is where education in school helps. Atleast they might go and talk with their teacher.

@kavi: Thanks :)

@taleharate: Welcome here :)

Exactly! why give room for curiosity and make them find out in unatural ways?

@pegasus: You raised a very valid point. Domestic rape rates... and one more horrifying fact is that most of the times children won't even know that they have been raped... this is where education comes in handy. Thanks for dropping by :)