endorsing sex education

By Aziff Azuddin (Malaysia Kini)

Sex education is a thorny issue in Malaysia. It has been constantly argued for years, yet we still do not see any substantial change in the education syllabus.

Years ago, conservatives claimed that endorsing sex education would be akin to giving teenagers with raging sexual hormones the tools to engage in pre-marital sex. The cultural and religious setting in Malaysia regards sex as taboo.

Liberals, on the other hand, argued that proper sex education would curb the growing number of teen pregnancies and baby-dumping cases that had been reported in the newspapers for years.

For a brief time in 2010, baby dumping became the most prominent news, sparking debates about Malacca’s endorsement of a lower minimum legal age for marriage, a special school for teenage mothers and the mushrooming of baby hatches. But like all Malaysian news, the issue died down after a few weeks.

Let’s examine exactly why teen pregnancies and baby dumping is a recurring problem.

Firstly, we have to accept the fact that teenagers are at a very active hormonal stage. In a Freudian sense, it is a period when we discover our identities through the exploration of human sexuality.

There is a popular saying in the pop culture circle: “Being a virgin in this day and age is something to be proud of, you’re like a unicorn.” And it’s not hard to imagine why. The advent of the Internet has opened up windows to porn sites, coupled with the media playing up sexual issues through films, advertisements and magazines.

Can we really blame our youth for being more sexually active when the media has been subtly giving them these messages all these years?

Lack of sex education
Secondly, we have to look at our syllabus on sex education. In all my years of secondary education, the closest I had had to sex education were on two chapters of human reproduction in Science lessons and subtle reminders of abstinence from religious studies.

There were also talks by my parents about the consequences of sexual exploration.

Finally, there is the Asian culture of treating sex as taboo. Parents are generally embarrassed to discuss sex with their children and at best, talk of it subtly, if not at all.

When teenagers cannot comfortably turn to their parents or a trusted elder figure, they would naturally turn to their peers who would have acquired knowledge on sex from the Internet, films or magazines.

The knowledge that these youths gather about sex and their interpretation of it would naturally deviate from those of their parents or the general public.

Throughout my university years, gossip would occasionally reach me and my peers about cases of girls we know getting pregnant. The tale was always the same: no contraceptives were used.

Among the reasons given for not wearing a contraceptive were that sex felt better without it, that walking into a convenience store and purchasing a box of contraceptives was embarrassing, and lastly, they had no idea about the existence of contraceptives.

Invariably, the end result was sudden marriage at a young age.

The lives of these girls and their children would forever be tainted. They would be looked upon with scorn by society. Worse still, the baby would end up aborted in dirty public restrooms or dumped as roadside trash.

Had these youth been properly educated on sex, could these problems have been prevented? Yes, it could.

Inculcating sex awareness
We often run campaigns on AIDS prevention, but who among us really takes the initiative to talk and fight about revamping our outdated education syllabus?

The current education syllabus does nothing to educate these young boys and girls on this important subject. We are forever hiding behind cultural sensitivity and taboos.

No one is endorsing a free sexual lifestyle like those practised in the West, but in order to tackle teen pregnancy and baby dumping effectively, something must be done.

Schools could take the initiative by working together with NGOs on annual campaigns on sex awareness. They could highlight topics ranging from sexual reproduction, emotional relations to reproductive rights and responsibilities, among others.

Given proper exposure, the youth can get over their awkwardness and seek proper advice from trusted counsellors or parents.

During the early years of Islam, the followers of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) would approach the Prophet, despite the embarrassment, and ask him questions with regard to sex and conduct of marriage.

In all instances, the Prophet would answer with frankness, giving his followers guidance. Today, our problem is that we are not educating and answering questions on sex from the youth with the same frankness.

The result? At least two babies found in dumpsters every other day of the week and rising cases of teen pregnancies.

Aziff Azuddin, 22, is currently pursuing his Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism.