Allia Tzudir
Dimapur | February 4
In today’s age of easy access to internet, most young people acknowledges coming across sex related topics from their peers, movies and series which may or may not have the correct information.
“It is important for our children to learn sex education in order to be safe, to prevent and combat sexual harassment, sexual exploitation and also have healthy relationships among peers,” Lemla*, a mother said. She also believes that the right sex education will reduce unwanted pregnancies and Sexual Transmission Disease (STD).
Addressing the need to have proper sex education in schools, a 16 year old higher secondary student based in Dimapur said, “I think teachers in most schools avoid the topic of reproduction. They skip that part and make sure we read it on our own like we would understand it without any explanation.”
Repa*, a mother of two children in Dimapur encourages talking and learning about sex education at home.
Conversations may be uncomfortable and awkward but it can be worth knowing your child is in safe hands,” she stated.
“Schools may not have or may have syllabus related to sex education on hygiene, safe sex practices and how one’s body grow naturally need to be taken care of; so I think as a parent, if my child has no knowledge on how she must care and protect her body, I will teach her when she comes of age,” she said.
Responding on if sex education is important from a parent point of view, Atem*, a 58 year old father of three sons said, “during the past, let’s say when the present parents were children, we did not have the sex talk as our parents were not open to talk about this.” But now in the present generation, children seem more close with their parents and are open to talk about their life, he added.
Now with things easily accessible to children, Atem reiterated the need to have conversations on sex educations. “There is a saying that goes ‘Education is the best contraceptive’ so I guess it is important to get educated on these things,” he asserted.
A final year Psychology student, Shanty* said that with the common trend where dating at young age is very common, “identifying a healthy and unhealthy relationship must be taught.”
She opined that it is important for a parent to know their child’s social life and be aware of their mental health as depression comes from an unhealthy relationship among peers or people they interact with.
Shanty explains why ‘people should try to have an open mind in the current generation. “Being open about sex and sex related topics help one to be more comfortable to talk about problems and the issues we faced or are facing with our body and health. If one is able to easily talk about it without being judged, we can easily take immediate action and solve our health issues,” she added.
Another college going student in Dimapur shared that she has learned about sex education topics from OTT platforms more than she was ‘actually been taught in school.’
“My mother also educated me on sex related topics. It was an uncomfortable talk but it made me aware of my surroundings and body which makes me confident,” she stated.
*Names have been changed to protect privacy
The writer is a student of BA-Communication English in Jyoti Nivas Autonomous College, Bangalore.
This report was written as part of her month-long internship in The Morung Express.
