Sex education, religious and cultural values<\/p>\n
Alpha Amirrachman, Jakarta<\/p>\n
This newspaper (Jan. 27) reported an alarming result of a
\nsurvey concerning premarital sex among youngsters in four big
\ncities -- Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan and Bandung. The research
\nfound that 40 percent of 237 sexually active youngsters who
\nresponded to the survey lost their virginity at home, 26 percent
\nat a boarding house and 26 percent in a hotel.<\/p>\n
Although 80 percent of total respondents (475) agreed that
\npremarital sex was against their religions values, some still had
\nsex.<\/p>\n
Some nagging questions might be raised: Will we, as a nation,
\nbe able to advance our knowledge, skills and intellectual
\ncapacity, while simultaneously preserving our values and being
\nselective in absorbing \"foreign\" values? What is the role of
\neducation here?<\/p>\n
Alas! The study unveiled that only 5 percent of respondents
\nlearned about sexuality from schools, while others learned from
\nfriends and pornographic materials. This fact shows that there is
\na pressing need to include sex education in school curriculums to
\nminimize the risks of irresponsible sexual activities and to
\ncounter the misguided information the students receive from other
\nsources.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, efforts to include sex education at schools
\nseem to have always hit the wall as a conservative way of
\nthinking still lingers in our conscience. Interestingly, not only
\nin our country, Western countries also encountered similar
\nobstacles. Just recently the Sunday Herald (Jan. 23, 2005)
\nreported that in Scotland \"the Catholic Church claimed victory in
\nthe ongoing row over sexual health education in schools after
\ninsisting that head teachers would be able to block family
\nplanning workers from entering classrooms\".<\/p>\n
Even in the U.S., as Denis L. Carlson (1992) elaborates, there
\nare four influential ideologies that have shaped the thinking of
\nsex education: traditionalist, progressive, radical Freudian and
\nlibertarian ideologies. The traditionalists strictly separate
\nmind from body; the mind is to preserve the holiness, while the
\nbody tends to corrupt. It adheres to traditional Judeo-Christian
\nteachings that curse adultery, sodomy and homosexuality.
\nProgressives claim to be modern, although still refer to
\ntraditional ideologies. However, they subscribe to less
\nreproachful and more healing approaches.<\/p>\n
Radical Freudian ideology believes that \"sexuality had to
\nbecome less repressed and more egalitarian\", in which
\nhomosexuality is somewhat understood. Finally, libertarian
\nideology \"rejects a narrow view that understands sexuality
\nprimarily in terms of 'normality' and champions for individual
\nsexual rights\".<\/p>\n
While many would hope that our country would not embrace the
\nlast two ideologies, the combination of the first two somehow
\nreflects the competing forces in our thinking of sexuality.
\nAlready we can see how religious (mainly derived from the
\ninterpretation of Islam) and cultural values (often dubbed budaya
\ntimur, or eastern culture) have penetrated into all spheres of
\nour life.<\/p>\n
Simultaneously, we can see how \"secular\" or perhaps \"modern\"
\nideology is also competing to influence the way we perceive
\nsexuality, such as the much-debated \"safe sex\" campaign in the
\nmedia. Sex education is unfortunately something that is
\ninevitable.<\/p>\n
But how do we pursue sex education? Certainly, a scientific
\nexplanation of biological aspects of human sexuality and
\nreproduction can serve as an effective foundation, as biology is
\ntaught at schools. However, in a country where religiosity has
\ndeep roots, this is not enough. An appreciation of religious
\nvalues should be imparted to make students aware of how great God
\nis in creating this marvelous system of reproduction.<\/p>\n
Some argue that sex education should be a single isolated
\nsubject; some say inserting sexuality in pertinent subjects could
\nbe more profoundly affecting. Some experts argue that the younger
\nthe better for students.<\/p>\n
At the elementary school level, for example, a simple picture
\nof a pregnant mother might be useful to explain about where \"we
\nare all from\". At higher levels, issues of sexually transmitted
\ndiseases, HIV\/AIDS, abortion, teenage pregnancy and single
\nparents can be discussed and the social consequences and wide-
\nranging perspectives can be explored in a candid manner.<\/p>\n
To Muslim students, for example, a basic understanding of the
\nfiqh regarding the relationship between husband and wife and its
\nsexually related issues might also be introduced.<\/p>\n
These issues need to be thoroughly debated by educators and
\nscholars of all faiths. Nevertheless, getting a common
\nunderstanding might be problematic unless all parties \"take off
\ntheir jackets\" and faithfully make the interests of our young
\ngeneration the top priority.<\/p>\n
Therefore, the political will of the government is still
\nneeded to facilitate the push toward sex education in formal
\neducation, as well as the collective will of civil society to
\nurge the media to touch on sexuality in a more educational but
\nreligiously sensitive way.<\/p>\n
The harder we suppress sexuality, the more eager youngsters
\nare to explore sexuality in their own way. Unless we candidly
\nembrace their curiosity in a pedagogically responsible manner,
\nour youngsters may depart from our values and subscribe to their
\nown \"wild\" interpretation of sexuality.<\/p>\n
The writer (a.amirrachman@edfac.usyd.edu.au) is a lecturer at
\nthe School of Education at the University of Muhammadiyah Prof.
\nDr. Hamka. The views expressed are his own.<\/p>",
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