Sexuality Education in Capsules

Young people in all cultural settings need and require
getting correct and complete information related to
their bodies, health, relations and sexuality. This will
help protecting them from disease and dangers and
will make them able to make responsible choices and
decisions.
Schools are the most suitable and cost-effective platform
for providing sexuality education. Through
schools we can reach large numbers of young people,
provide them with age-specific information in a trusted
and safe environment.
On the other hand, the 1.3 billion adolescents living
in the world today are not the same. Like other age
groups, they live within a large spectrum of environments,
traditions, attitudes and norms. They could be
similar in some ways but different in many other ways.
It is therefore important to consider cultural and traditional
norms when designing the contents and format
of sexuality education programs for young people.
There are many conservative societies around the
World and I am coming from one of them. In these
societies sex is a taboo issue and is not usually discussed
openly. Premarital sex is a shameful act and not
tolerated specially in relation to females. Virginity of
girls must be kept till marriage.
The term “sexuality education” is literally translated
to Arabic into what sounds like “teaching sex”. This
fact along with cultural taboos makes negotiating the
introduction of “sexuality education” in schools with
policy makers is an impossible task.
But, there are always ways to bend the rules and
provide sexuality education in a “capsule”.
Keywords: Sexuality education, Conservative
communities, Adolescents’ health
Conflict of Interest and Disclosure statement: None