Reproductive Health Education

Reproductive health education or sex education is considered as a taboo subject in our society. To know its reason for being called taboo, I took an interview of ten educated young people (excluding health professionals) regarding their understanding about sex education. Surprisingly, most of them were taking it in terms of sexual intercourse only; even this misunderstanding is prevalent in west also (Potter P. A., & Perry A. G., 1997). However, sex education makes the individual aware of the social, moral, psychological, spiritual, and physiological characteristics of the human sexuality in a holistic manner (Paxman J. M., & Zuckerman R. J., 1987, & Potter P. A., & Perry A. G., 1995).

While talking about sex education, first as Muslims we should know that whether sex education is allowed in Islam or not? Allah says in the Holy Quran (39:9) that: “say are they equal those who know, and those who do not know?” (Dr. Shahid A., n.d.). Research in this area also reveals that not knowledge, but unawareness and unanswered curiosity are harmful (Dr. Shahid A., n.d.). Moreover, Allah has discussed reproduction, family life, menstruation and even ejaculation in the Quran (Dr. Shahid A., n.d.). Even the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), used to discuss many aspects of sexual life including sexual positions with His companions, and Muslim men and women were used to ask Him questions regarding their sexual life (Dr. Shahid A., n.d.).

After knowing that sex education is allowed in Islam, I took an interview from Muslims in order to know the consequences of not giving sex education in our Islamic society. The results of that interview revealed that consequences of not giving sex education include sexual abuse of children, perceiving menstruation as an illness, indulging in homosexual relationships, getting pregnant before marriage, wives’ considering sexual relationship as a sin even with their husbands, and doing sexual intercourse through wrong route i.e. an anal intercourse. The anal route of doing intercourse is not allowed in Islam, as the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) has said that “cursed is the one who approaches his wife in her rectum” (Dr. Shahid A., n.d.).
After knowing the consequences of not giving sex education in our society (though sex education is permitted in Islam), the questions arise that when sex education should be started to give and what information should be given at particular age? In some countries, sex education is given at beginning or just before the start of adolescent’s period while in other countries it is allowed to give before or at the time of marriage (Kodagoda N., 1985).

However, the latest discussion favors that it must be started in the early childhood period in order to save children from sexual abuse; as child starts recognizing his/her sexual identity as early as in his/her preschooler stage i.e. from three to six years of life (Dr. Shahid A., n.d., Paxman J. M., & Zuckerman R. J., 1987, Robmault I. P., 1978, & Wass P. C., n.d.). Such as one of my Muslim interviewees mentioned that she gave necessary and age-appropriate sex information to her three years old daughter and when her daughter was abused sexually by her class teacher, her daughter saved her by screaming and hitting her teacher and later on she narrated that event to her mother and her mother took action against that teacher. So, it is obvious that sex education should be to give from the preschooler age of a child and the content of sex education should be appropriate according to learner’s age.

After knowing about learner’s appropriate age and sexual content, it must be considered that who should give sex education? There are two channels of acquiring any information, formal channel and informal channel (Kodagoda N., 1985, & Paxman J. M., & Zuckerman R. J., 1987). The formal channel of giving pre-planned sex education includes teachers giving sex education at schools via course books; imams of the mosques; health team members giving at health centers, hospitals, schools and community, etc. The informal channel of acquiring information includes parents, elder siblings, and relatives at home; media including television, movies, pornographic movies and books and magazines, Internet, cable, friends or peers, etc. Such as, most of my interviewees mentioned that they had acquired wrong, immoral, unethical, and un-Islamic sex information from their peers and media e.g. having sex with spouse through anus route. Peers and media are not unreliable sources for Muslims only, but these are the unreliable sources for western people also, for example, Ananda Lewis (a host of MTV’s fly VJ program and Ananda Lewis Show program on M-Net channel) had been interviewed for the Young & Modern magazine in 1998 November. She mentioned in her that interview that she lost her virginity in premarital sex when she was 19 years old and few of the reasons for her engagement in premarital sex was; her peers’ pressure and her lack of true knowledge regarding sexuality. That’s why, the most reliable sources of sex education are teachers, health team members, parents or siblings or relatives, and imams of the mosques, if they all have true and recent knowledge in this matter, whereas peers and media do not guarantee the true sex education in ethical and religious context.

After knowing the reliable sources of sex education, now the matter arises that whether sex education should only be given on academic basis or whether moral, ethical, religious teachings should be given along with sex education? To respond this matter, it has been observed in America that after giving sex education in schools and high schools, students get engaged in illegal sexual relationships which results in increasing rate of premarital sex, sex crimes, teenage pregnancies, and sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS & HIV (Dr. Shahid A., n.d.). The best solution of this problem is to give the sex education to children and adolescents with moral and religious teachings such as, give them sex education with the reasons of not engaging in premarital sex and teach them the Islamic concept of sex education also which will help them to make the right decision in their lives (ref.# Dr. Shahid A., n.d., Paxman J. M., & Zuckerman R. J., 1987, Potter P. A., & Perry A. G., 1997, & Sex education: sex education in public schools; what parents need to know, why they must get involved, n.d.).

To conclude, I must say that one should not ignore the importance of giving sex education along with moral and religious education also. Moreover, to give the right sex education with moral and religious teachings; teachers, imams of the mosques, parents and health team members are the best choices. However, before teaching sexuality to others, one should have the correct knowledge regarding sexuality, morality, and an Islamic concept of sexuality also.

References

1. Dr. Shahid A. (n.d.). Sex: sensitive issues pertaining to sex, sex education, teenage pregnancy, sex in Islam, and marriage. Retrieved May 23, 2003, from http://www-islam-usa.com/im20-html.
2. Kodagoda N. (1985). Family life education: many fears and barriers. Education for health, (Issue No.2), 37-39. Geneva: World Health Organisation.
3. Paxman J. M., & Zuckerman R. J. (1987). Reproductive health education and information. Laws and policies affecting adolescence health. (pp. 38-56). Geneva: World Health Organisation.
4. Potter P. A., & Perry A. G. (1995). Psychosocial factors in health. Basic nursing theory and practice. (pp. 372-401). Missouri: Mosby.
5. Potter P. A., & Perry A. G. (1997). Sexuality. Fundamentals of nursing concepts, process, and practice. (pp. 410-439). Missouri: Mosby.
6. Robmault I. P. (1978). Psychosexual development: I’m a boy – I’m a girl. Sex, society, and the disabled: a developmental inquiry into roles, reactions, and responsibilities. (pp. 01-39). New York: Harper & Row, Publishers.
7. Robmault I. P. (1978). Adolescence and youth: marking time on society’s threshold. Sex, society, and the disabled: a developmental inquiry into roles, reactions, and responsibilities. (pp. 41-83). New York: Harper & Row, Publishers.
8. Wass P. C. (n.d.). Sex education helps keep children safe from abuse: a guide for parents to teach their children personal safety rules to reduce the risk of sexual abuse. Retrieved May 23, 2003, from http://www.smith-lawfirm.com/sex-ed.html.
9. (n.d.). Sex education: sex education in public schools; what parents need to know, why they must get involved. Retrieved May 23, 2003, from http://www.soundivision.com/info/educaiton/sex/sexpub.asp.