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Saturday, May 19, 2007
Current Affair assignment (3) : Sex education still taboo in India
6 states in India ban sex ed to preserve culture
Sex education still taboo in India
Certain states in India ban sex education in public schools, claiming that it was against Indian culture and "learning modules are too explicit, and some pictures are too graphic." This can be seen as India has the world's highest number of HIV cases at about 5.7 million.
Furthermore, over 40% of Indian women have not even heard about AIDS. In addition, ignorance about sex is apparent in the land of Kama Sutra where explicit sex acts are celebrated in ancient temple architecture.
I personally feel that there should not be bans on sex education as it is important for people to know the importance of safe sex, and that they have the right to know how to protect themselves from STDs. (sexually-transmitted diseases)
Also, most religion advocates preservation of life. But by banning sex education, people stand a higher chance of contracting STDs. Parents also feel embarrassed talking about such mature topics with their children. However, if no one educates these children about sex, when they grow older, many of these children would become victims of STDs. As parents, they should not feel shy about discussing such matters with their children especially since no parents would want the worse for their child.
Sex education should also be taught at a tender age because youths tend to be more adventurous and try certain things which are new to them, such as the experience of sex. Without prior knowledge of safe sex, or even pre-marital sex, the chances of these youths contracting sexually-transmitted diseases are high. Besides, it would be too late if the parents regret not educating their children about sex issues before they become victims of such diseases. Another reason behind sex education being a taboo in India is that people perceive sex education as encouraging sex, which is completely untrue. Sex education teaches one about the possible risks of unsafe sex and also moral values which include not having sex before marriage.
Thus I feel that sex education should never be banned because in order for the people to live longer, they must have the right to know what they should and should not do.
Sex education still taboo in India
Certain states in India ban sex education in public schools, claiming that it was against Indian culture and "learning modules are too explicit, and some pictures are too graphic." This can be seen as India has the world's highest number of HIV cases at about 5.7 million.
Furthermore, over 40% of Indian women have not even heard about AIDS. In addition, ignorance about sex is apparent in the land of Kama Sutra where explicit sex acts are celebrated in ancient temple architecture.
I personally feel that there should not be bans on sex education as it is important for people to know the importance of safe sex, and that they have the right to know how to protect themselves from STDs. (sexually-transmitted diseases)
Also, most religion advocates preservation of life. But by banning sex education, people stand a higher chance of contracting STDs. Parents also feel embarrassed talking about such mature topics with their children. However, if no one educates these children about sex, when they grow older, many of these children would become victims of STDs. As parents, they should not feel shy about discussing such matters with their children especially since no parents would want the worse for their child.
Sex education should also be taught at a tender age because youths tend to be more adventurous and try certain things which are new to them, such as the experience of sex. Without prior knowledge of safe sex, or even pre-marital sex, the chances of these youths contracting sexually-transmitted diseases are high. Besides, it would be too late if the parents regret not educating their children about sex issues before they become victims of such diseases. Another reason behind sex education being a taboo in India is that people perceive sex education as encouraging sex, which is completely untrue. Sex education teaches one about the possible risks of unsafe sex and also moral values which include not having sex before marriage.
Thus I feel that sex education should never be banned because in order for the people to live longer, they must have the right to know what they should and should not do.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Current Affair assignment (2): Bullying
More students call for help against bullies
I'm sure many people have been victims of bully cases before. Bullying does not only mean physical abuse. Bullying comes in many forms - extortion, threatening, physical abuse, cyber bullying etc, all of which leads to a main point, which is to assert one's authority. The rate of bully cases in Singapore has gone up by approximately 47% in the previous year. Such cases were that of a boy being beaten up on his birthday and another, of a girl being slapped, stripped and filmed by her schoolmates. Bullies usually target their peers who are of a smaller build. They also tend to attack their prey in secluded places, alongside fellow bullies.
Now, why would somebody want to bully others? Perhaps the most important reason is that they want to assert their authority to show that they are "bigger" and stronger than others. They put on a front so as to make others fear them, but deep within themselves, they too, are afraid of those who are bigger and tougher than they are. Have you ever realised, as I mentioned earlier, bullies like to prey on those smaller than they are? If they were spoiling for a fight, why wouldn't they approach someone of their own size rather than someone whom they know they can easily defeat? This is largely due to the fact that they have low self-esteem or are lacking in self-confidence and need to boost their ego by picking on somebody to trample over.
Furthermore, although many people get bullied constantly, they seldom or never do speak about it, which makes it hard for someone to help because they would not know what had happened. I believe that the main reason for not speaking up is that they too, have their pride. They could well be thinking “Would my friends think that I’m a weakling if I told them that I was bullied?” Another possible reason could be that they are afraid to anger the bullies by bringing up these matters to a higher authority.
Anyhow, keeping matters to themselves and not speaking up about such cases could lead to undesirable consequences. Bottling up that anger within oneself, could result in mental outbreak. They might contemplate suicide, or worse still harm those around them, just like the Virginia Tech massacre that happened not too long ago.
However, have you ever noticed that most of the bully cases brought up were by the victims themselves and not by their peers? Well, it could be that most victims did not want their friends to talk about it, or that their friends or any passer-by simply could not summon that courage to stand up for the victim lest they get victimized too. Thus I feel that it is a test of one’s moral courage to be able to stand up for their weaker peers. I’m certain that most of us have been guilty of turning a blind eye to bully cases that we are aware of.
What goes around comes around, remember?
I'm sure many people have been victims of bully cases before. Bullying does not only mean physical abuse. Bullying comes in many forms - extortion, threatening, physical abuse, cyber bullying etc, all of which leads to a main point, which is to assert one's authority. The rate of bully cases in Singapore has gone up by approximately 47% in the previous year. Such cases were that of a boy being beaten up on his birthday and another, of a girl being slapped, stripped and filmed by her schoolmates. Bullies usually target their peers who are of a smaller build. They also tend to attack their prey in secluded places, alongside fellow bullies.
Now, why would somebody want to bully others? Perhaps the most important reason is that they want to assert their authority to show that they are "bigger" and stronger than others. They put on a front so as to make others fear them, but deep within themselves, they too, are afraid of those who are bigger and tougher than they are. Have you ever realised, as I mentioned earlier, bullies like to prey on those smaller than they are? If they were spoiling for a fight, why wouldn't they approach someone of their own size rather than someone whom they know they can easily defeat? This is largely due to the fact that they have low self-esteem or are lacking in self-confidence and need to boost their ego by picking on somebody to trample over.
Furthermore, although many people get bullied constantly, they seldom or never do speak about it, which makes it hard for someone to help because they would not know what had happened. I believe that the main reason for not speaking up is that they too, have their pride. They could well be thinking “Would my friends think that I’m a weakling if I told them that I was bullied?” Another possible reason could be that they are afraid to anger the bullies by bringing up these matters to a higher authority.
Anyhow, keeping matters to themselves and not speaking up about such cases could lead to undesirable consequences. Bottling up that anger within oneself, could result in mental outbreak. They might contemplate suicide, or worse still harm those around them, just like the Virginia Tech massacre that happened not too long ago.
However, have you ever noticed that most of the bully cases brought up were by the victims themselves and not by their peers? Well, it could be that most victims did not want their friends to talk about it, or that their friends or any passer-by simply could not summon that courage to stand up for the victim lest they get victimized too. Thus I feel that it is a test of one’s moral courage to be able to stand up for their weaker peers. I’m certain that most of us have been guilty of turning a blind eye to bully cases that we are aware of.
What goes around comes around, remember?
