you have never committed an offence before and did not go to college, you are “poor thing, give chance”? Come on.If this were a drug or firearms offence, the same “considerations” would not be given.Having sex with a child is wrong. Pure and simple
Congratulations, Malaysia! We might soon become the next popular tourist destination for paedophiles, now that our courts have again waived the penalties for statutory rape for an individual after taking into account his “future”.
In the case of Chuah Guan Jiu, Sessions Court judge Nisa Abdul Aziz considered the following factors in deciding not to throw him into jail for having sex with a 12-year-old:
1. He did not have a criminal background.
2. He did not have a “high education”, having left school at Form 2.
3. Most importantly, the sex was consensual.
Since when did consent become a factor in determining guilt for statutory rape? This is not a case of sex between minors — this is an adult having sex with a prepubescent child. I’d call that paedophilia, wouldn’t you?
As there is no legal definition of the term paedophile, I’ll cite instead the definition used by the Australian National Crime Authority: “Adults who act on their sexual preference for children.”
Let us look at two very important facts in the case:
She was 12. He was 21.
She’s a minor. He’s an adult.
There is no “grey area” here as a 12-year-old is a child, not a teenager. Reading the news reportage, the offender had actually asked her to come over to his apartment on a school day.
A responsible adult would not be asking a child to skip school to have sex.
Was the judge confused? Did she assume that, because a child consented to sex, it was not rape? That there was nothing wrong with an adult man having sex with a child?
If, say, I subtract three years from their ages, would it perhaps make it more of an “obvious” offence?
It is clear that something is wrong with our judiciary system when we take into account consent in cases where it is not only clearly statutory rape, but an instance where you could call the perpetrator a paedophile.
Letting something like this go is akin to us saying: “Yes, it’s fine to have sex with primary school children so long as they say ‘Yes’.”
Some people would argue that 12-year-olds these days are physically more developed, with girls reaching puberty far earlier than they used to. Physical development is one thing but mentally, emotionally, a 12-year-old is still a child.
And a paedophile is still a paedophile, even if he has a “bright future”.
lured a 15-year old school-going girl to his bedroom. For the next two years, the priest entered into a sexual relationship with the minor girl that she gave birth to a female child on September 15, 1998.The Changacherry police on Tuesday registered a case against Father Karthikapally for raping, abducting and compelling the victim for abortion. The police has submitted before the local judicial court a first information report against the priest under sections 315, 316 and 336 of the Indian Penal Code that deal with provisions on rape and abduction.
Where do the perpetrators get such courage and confidence from that they stop a running bus, pull out a woman and leave her by the roadside after raping her, that they trap a foreign diplomat and rape her in a car, that they catch hold of a college student and violate her atop a building even as heavy traffic passes by a few feet below? How is it that a cop instead of protecting a young girl shuts her inside a police post and does the unthinkable?
The arrogance mostly comes from a knowledge that in a society like India's the victims will be silenced "naturally and culturally". It comes from the deadly and deeply ingrained dynamics of a feudal nation that treats women as second class citizens. And it comes from hundreds of years of brainwashing of the male mind after Manu said women were little better than cattle. Importantly, it derives an insidious power of its own by the silent suffering of women themselves, by their own reluctance to fight for the space they rightly deserve and are perpetually denied.
Top police officers say the number of rape cases reported may not even be a fraction of the one that's actually committed. Social activists echo this. For every woman who reports her violation, there are 10 who will not speak up. Somehow, the Indian male - and a predominantly male-dominated police and administration - continues to put the onus of the crime, rather incredibly, on the victims: you must have sent some signal; you must have been dolled-up and dressed provocatively; maybe you are crying rape because you have been caught; why did you have to answer nature's call when you know there could be thugs lurking around; what shame you have brought on us; why you.
This is enough to kill the spirit of most women and for those that can transcend this psychological brutality there is the crude questioning by cops and lawyers, something many victims say is like going through a second rape. Not surprising that they prefer to seal their lips and kill their sense of dignity and honour. And we are not even talking about the numerous others subjected to molestation, groping, eve teasing and degrees of verbal and physical abuse - at the movie hall, in the bus, in crowded bylanes, markets, trains, almost everywhere. As one female colleague who used to take the metro in Kolkata to commute said, "The first time I was groped, I created a ruckus. And fought like mad. But after a few times, it got hard. In any case, the stares you get after that is almost, like, killing. If you are a working woman in India not rich enough to take your own car to office, groping is a routine reality."
A group of informed citizens have started a cyber campaign against rape, clamoring for stricter laws, including death sentence if it involves minors and handicapped. It's already got robust support and, clearly, many think it's a step in the right direction. The courts will have to get stringent - many still persuade the rapist to marry his victim - but there is urgent need for another three-pronged effort. One, investigating agencies will have to be sensitized on how to deal with such cases. Two, society at large will have to change its attitude towards victims and make the leap from judgemental censure to empathy. Finally, women themselves will have to fight their demons and come out in the open about their various abuses.
India, as an article in TOI recently said, is now one of the most dangerous places for women to be in. We can do without this dubious distinction.
** In 1993, the dead body of 21-year old Sister Abhaya was flushed out from the well of St Pious X Convent, Kottayam. Six years of police investigations reached nowhere and in July this year the Central Bureau of Investigation closed the sensitive case as it failed to fix the liability of the young nun’s murder. Church critics circulate two theories for Sr Abhaya’s death. One, she was murdered when she refused the sexual advances of a priest or a bishop. Second, she was killed because she knew that some of her colleague nuns had sexual relationships with two Catholic priests — Fr Jose Putrukayal and Fr Thomas Kattoor.While the Sister Abhaya case is closed forever, a popular Malayalam movie was released three weeks back on the incident. Titled Crime Fileand starring superstar Suresh Gopi, the film depicts the Church in bad light by portraying what many say “the real story” behind Sister Abhaya’s murder.
In 1998, Sr Jyothis of Sacred Heart Convent at Mukkom in Kozhikode district was found murdered in the convent’s well. Investigations so far have made no headway, but the police suspect that sexual motive could have been the cause behind the murder.
Recently, Sister Jyothis’s father, K M Jose filed a case in the Kerala high court pleading for a CBI investigation into his daughter’s murder in the convent.
** Last month, a gang of students belonging to the Student Federation of India attacked Father Geo Pulickal, principal of the Catholic-run Nirmalagiri College at Koothuparamba in north Kerala. SFI students allege that the principal is a sodomite and subjected a college student to sodomy and two priests were involved in a ragging case in the college hostel. Posters depicting the priests and nuns in bad light appeared on the college campus.
The tug of war between the SFI activists and the Catholic church over the attack on Father Pulickal reached a flashpoint when Nirmalagiri College was closed last month and later re-opened after mediations between the Church officials and the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist.
Is the vow of celibacy that priests and nuns adopt to serve the Catholic church in Kerala becoming suspect? Why are increasing numbers of sex scandals involving the clergy coming up in the state?
Church leaders, especially those belonging to the Syro-Malabar Church in Kerala are upset as social groups are mounting protests for trying to protect priests like Father Karthikapally from the clutches of civil law.
But Catholic activists who have launched a movement against the church claim that cases of priests caught in sex crimes are increasing in the state. “It seems priests in Kerala are losing their faith and virginity. We know the names of many priests who deliberately fail to keep their sacred pledge of a celibate lifestyle,” says Sebastian Vattamattam, secretary of Kottayam-based Vikas Institute that has raked up the sex scandal involving Father Cyriac Karthikapally.
Vattamattom, a college professor in the Changanacherry archdiocese-run Saint Berchman’s College, is one of the many active Catholics who have launched a movement against what they call “erring and immoral priests and nuns.”Critics like him cite many reasons why priests and nuns are stepping out of their pastoral and missionary duties to the forbidden paths. “All the modern priests are very educated and rich. They are exposed to the world and lured by the luxuries of the modern world. They are spiritually corrupt and indulge in all sorts of immoral activities,” accuses Vattamattam.
Kurian Verghese, a Catholic activist in Kochi, who himself left priestly studies mid-way and became an engineer later, says the fault lies with the seminaries. “Seminaries where students are trained and moulded to become priests are old-fashioned. They are taught philosophy and theology of the old order without any freedom of thought or action,” he points out.
“I left the seminary after five years because I felt suffocated. So I think once they are out of seminaries, the present generation of young priests are attracted by the outside world which they have never seen or experienced,” Verghese says.“I know many priests who drink and womanise regularly. But they still remain within the dioceses and pastoral ministry and serve the local people. Our social set-up is such that a priest giving up the cassock for marriage is a butt of ridicule,” he said.Therefore, he says, the best thing that the church should aim for is to encourage those “immoral priests” to get out of the church services and help them get married.
But Church officials point out that some of the sex scandals rocking the Catholic community in Kerala are “stray instances” and have been blown out of proportion by “some misguided catholic activists.”
According to Bishop Thomas Chakiath of Ernakulam archdiocese, it is sad that “some vested interests have launched a smear campaign against the church basing their arguments on some stray incidents.”
“Of course, there have been incidents in which priests were accused of disobeying the sacred order of celibacy. But it is improper to accuse that the church is plagued by sex scandals,” he said.
Bishop Chakiath said often priests who indulge in immoral activities leave their pastoral job and embrace matrimony. “But these all are very rare instances and they do not mean that the church has lost its mission, unity and integrity,” he asserted.
However, according to Professor M J George, a member of the action council that is now pursuing the Father Karthikapally case the gravest mistake within the church is that “it itself is the protector of criminal clergy.”
George said when the Father Karthikapally sex scandal rocked the Changanacherry archdiocese, what the Archbishop did was to get him tried in the diocese’s own tribunal, which “punished” him by removing him from the pastoral ministry and offering remuneration to the girl.
“The accused priest is still with the diocese. His residence is provided by the diocese and he is protected by the church while his daughter is growing up in an orphanage,” George said.
Catholic activists claim in many dioceses across Kerala, many “clerical gangsters” have come up. “Our information is that Father Karthikapally used to take the minor girl to his priest friends in other parishes. They had actually formed a sex racket involving many girls,” says Vattamattam.
But Changanacherry Archdiocese Chancellor Father Gregory Naduviledam refutes the charges levelled by the church pressure groups. “They are misguided activists who are acting with some vested interests against the church,” he said.
As for Father Karthikapally sex case, he said, the diocesan tribunal decided to try the priest after the victim’s parents approached Archbishop Joseph Powathil for a settlement on the case from the church side.
“In the tribunal the priest confessed to his crime. We found him guilty and punished him by relieving him of all pastoral duties. He is now living in a remote village without serving any parish or other diocesan institutes,” Father Naduviledam saiAs to the accusation that the diocese did not take the case to the police, he said “it was not the duty of the church.” “It was the duty of the offended party to approach the police. But the girl’s parents instead wanted that the priest should be tried by the church tribunal only,” Father Naduviledam added.
According to Father Paul Thelakkat, editor of Sathyadeepam, a popular Catholic weekly, “It is an unfair argument that the church has lost its image because one among thousands of its priests is involved in a sex scandal.”
“In every religious society and community in the world, there are erring members. The Catholic church considers the rare instances of sex scandals in Kerala as insignificant,” he asserted.
One of the first sex scandals that rocked the Kerala church was in the 1970s, that too in the Changanacherry diocese. A diocesan priest, Father Benedict entered into a sexual relationship with Mariakutty, a regular church-goer. But when their relationship began doing the rounds, Father Benedict allegedly killed Mariakutty.
Father Benedict was arrested and fought the case in many courts for years, but was later set free for want of sufficient evidence of murder.
Old timers recall when Father Benedict was acquitted and released, he was given a warm reception by the Changanacherry archdiocese.
“I think this is the fault with the church. It does not punish those priests who break their celibacy and seek immoral means of life. But the church is always eager to protect the clergy who are found guilty,” says Joseph Punnen, a devout catholic who had launched a movement against Father Benedict in 1970s.
“Priests are sinning against their church and the community. But their crimes have thrown up legal, ethical and moral issues for debate within the church and the catholic community,” he said.Old timers recall when Father Benedict was acquitted and released, he was given a warm reception by the Changanacherry archdiocese.
“I think this is the fault with the church. It does not punish those priests who break their celibacy and seek immoral means of life. But the church is always eager to protect the clergy who are found guilty,” says Joseph Punnen, a devout catholic who had launched a movement against Father Benedict in 1970s.lured a 15-year old school-going girl to his bedroom. For the next two years, the priest entered into a sexual relationship with the minor girl that she gave birth to a female child on September 15, 1998.The Changacherry police on Tuesday registered a case against Father Karthikapally for raping, abducting and compelling the victim for abortion. The police has submitted before the local judicial court a first information report against the priest under sections 315, 316 and 336 of the Indian Penal Code that deal with provisions on rape and abduction.
** In 1993, the dead body of 21-year old Sister Abhaya was flushed out from the well of St Pious X Convent, Kottayam. Six years of police investigations reached nowhere and in July this year the Central Bureau of Investigation closed the sensitive case as it failed to fix the liability of the young nun’s murder. Church critics circulate two theories for Sr Abhaya’s death. One, she was murdered when she refused the sexual advances of a priest or a bishop. Second, she was killed because she knew that some of her colleague nuns had sexual relationships with two Catholic priests — Fr Jose Putrukayal and Fr Thomas Kattoor.While the Sister Abhaya case is closed forever, a popular Malayalam movie was released three weeks back on the incident. Titled Crime Fileand starring superstar Suresh Gopi, the film depicts the Church in bad light by portraying what many say “the real story” behind Sister Abhaya’s murder.
In 1998, Sr Jyothis of Sacred Heart Convent at Mukkom in Kozhikode district was found murdered in the convent’s well. Investigations so far have made no headway, but the police suspect that sexual motive could have been the cause behind the murder.
Recently, Sister Jyothis’s father, K M Jose filed a case in the Kerala high court pleading for a CBI investigation into his daughter’s murder in the convent.
** Last month, a gang of students belonging to the Student Federation of India attacked Father Geo Pulickal, principal of the Catholic-run Nirmalagiri College at Koothuparamba in north Kerala. SFI students allege that the principal is a sodomite and subjected a college student to sodomy and two priests were involved in a ragging case in the college hostel. Posters depicting the priests and nuns in bad light appeared on the college campus.
The tug of war between the SFI activists and the Catholic church over the attack on Father Pulickal reached a flashpoint when Nirmalagiri College was closed last month and later re-opened after mediations between the Church officials and the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist.
Is the vow of celibacy that priests and nuns adopt to serve the Catholic church in Kerala becoming suspect? Why are increasing numbers of sex scandals involving the clergy coming up in the state?
Church leaders, especially those belonging to the Syro-Malabar Church in Kerala are upset as social groups are mounting protests for trying to protect priests like Father Karthikapally from the clutches of civil law.
But Catholic activists who have launched a movement against the church claim that cases of priests caught in sex crimes are increasing in the state. “It seems priests in Kerala are losing their faith and virginity. We know the names of many priests who deliberately fail to keep their sacred pledge of a celibate lifestyle,” says Sebastian Vattamattam, secretary of Kottayam-based Vikas Institute that has raked up the sex scandal involving Father Cyriac Karthikapally.
Vattamattom, a college professor in the Changanacherry archdiocese-run Saint Berchman’s College, is one of the many active Catholics who have launched a movement against what they call “erring and immoral priests and nuns.”Critics like him cite many reasons why priests and nuns are stepping out of their pastoral and missionary duties to the forbidden paths. “All the modern priests are very educated and rich. They are exposed to the world and lured by the luxuries of the modern world. They are spiritually corrupt and indulge in all sorts of immoral activities,” accuses Vattamattam.
Kurian Verghese, a Catholic activist in Kochi, who himself left priestly studies mid-way and became an engineer later, says the fault lies with the seminaries. “Seminaries where students are trained and moulded to become priests are old-fashioned. They are taught philosophy and theology of the old order without any freedom of thought or action,” he points out.
“I left the seminary after five years because I felt suffocated. So I think once they are out of seminaries, the present generation of young priests are attracted by the outside world which they have never seen or experienced,” Verghese says.“I know many priests who drink and womanise regularly. But they still remain within the dioceses and pastoral ministry and serve the local people. Our social set-up is such that a priest giving up the cassock for marriage is a butt of ridicule,” he said.Therefore, he says, the best thing that the church should aim for is to encourage those “immoral priests” to get out of the church services and help them get married.
But Church officials point out that some of the sex scandals rocking the Catholic community in Kerala are “stray instances” and have been blown out of proportion by “some misguided catholic activists.”
According to Bishop Thomas Chakiath of Ernakulam archdiocese, it is sad that “some vested interests have launched a smear campaign against the church basing their arguments on some stray incidents.”
“Of course, there have been incidents in which priests were accused of disobeying the sacred order of celibacy. But it is improper to accuse that the church is plagued by sex scandals,” he said.
Bishop Chakiath said often priests who indulge in immoral activities leave their pastoral job and embrace matrimony. “But these all are very rare instances and they do not mean that the church has lost its mission, unity and integrity,” he asserted.
However, according to Professor M J George, a member of the action council that is now pursuing the Father Karthikapally case the gravest mistake within the church is that “it itself is the protector of criminal clergy.”
George said when the Father Karthikapally sex scandal rocked the Changanacherry archdiocese, what the Archbishop did was to get him tried in the diocese’s own tribunal, which “punished” him by removing him from the pastoral ministry and offering remuneration to the girl.
“The accused priest is still with the diocese. His residence is provided by the diocese and he is protected by the church while his daughter is growing up in an orphanage,” George said.
Catholic activists claim in many dioceses across Kerala, many “clerical gangsters” have come up. “Our information is that Father Karthikapally used to take the minor girl to his priest friends in other parishes. They had actually formed a sex racket involving many girls,” says Vattamattam.
But Changanacherry Archdiocese Chancellor Father Gregory Naduviledam refutes the charges levelled by the church pressure groups. “They are misguided activists who are acting with some vested interests against the church,” he said.
As for Father Karthikapally sex case, he said, the diocesan tribunal decided to try the priest after the victim’s parents approached Archbishop Joseph Powathil for a settlement on the case from the church side.
“In the tribunal the priest confessed to his crime. We found him guilty and punished him by relieving him of all pastoral duties. He is now living in a remote village without serving any parish or other diocesan institutes,” Father Naduviledam saiAs to the accusation that the diocese did not take the case to the police, he said “it was not the duty of the church.” “It was the duty of the offended party to approach the police. But the girl’s parents instead wanted that the priest should be tried by the church tribunal only,” Father Naduviledam added.
According to Father Paul Thelakkat, editor of Sathyadeepam, a popular Catholic weekly, “It is an unfair argument that the church has lost its image because one among thousands of its priests is involved in a sex scandal.”
“In every religious society and community in the world, there are erring members. The Catholic church considers the rare instances of sex scandals in Kerala as insignificant,” he asserted.
One of the first sex scandals that rocked the Kerala church was in the 1970s, that too in the Changanacherry diocese. A diocesan priest, Father Benedict entered into a sexual relationship with Mariakutty, a regular church-goer. But when their relationship began doing the rounds, Father Benedict allegedly killed Mariakutty.
Father Benedict was arrested and fought the case in many courts for years, but was later set free for want of sufficient evidence of murder.
Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, has been ordered to stand trial on charges he paid for sex with a 17-year-old girl and then used his political position to try and cover it up. Cristina Di Censo, a Milan judge, handed down the indictment on Tuesday. The trial is set to begin on April 6. The 74-year-old billionaire has denied the charges against him, saying they are politically motivated. However, his lawyers on Tuesday said they “didn’t expect anything else,” in response to the news. Prosecutors bringing the case against Berlusconi allege he paid for sex with a “significant number” of young women including a Moroccan dancer nicknamed Ruby the Heart Stealer, who was 17 at the time. The premier is also accused of using his influence to free her from custody after being arrested on suspicion of an unrelated theft. Political immunity removed A group of Milan judges, who conducted an investigation into the claims before seeking trial, say the premier acted in fear that her detention would have revealed her relationship to him. But Berlusconi and Ruby, whose real name is Karima El Mahroug, have both denied having sex, and the premier’s supporters say he helped release her from jail because he believed she was a relative of Hosni Mubarak, the recently ousted Egyptian president.
Tuesday’s development is the biggest blow yet to the embattled prime minister, who is resisting calls to step down amid a growing number of scandals and political problems. Earlier this week, thousands of women rallied around the country against the prime minister, saying the alleged scandals were humiliating. The prime minister has also come under pressure from the Vatican and Confindustria, Italy’s main business lobby. Tim Friend, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Rome, said many people in Italy “are starting to ask if this is the beginning of the end for their prime minister”. “This [impending court case] is the worst possible news for Berlusconi, Italy’s longest-serving post-war leader. He has a long history of accusations against him including sex scandals and corruption,” he said. Berlusconi has also been made politically vulnerable following a split with a former ally, and last month a court partially removed his right to political immunity. Tuesday’s decision suggests that Di Censo believes that there is sufficient evidence to subject Berlusconi to an immediate trial, which skips the preliminary hearing stage. But his lawyers have previously accused the Milan court of “violating the constitution”, saying Berlusconi could only be tried in a special court for members of parliament. Our correspondent said in theory the Italian leader could face up to 15 years in jail if found guilty. “This looks as though the judge has decided on a fast-track trial. “Berlusconi will be marshalling his defences, I think he will say some of this evidence against him was acquired through phone taps, through interceptions and he might challenge it in that way,” he said. “Do not bring shame to the family,” warned Elham Mahdi al Assi’s mother before Elham died from internal bleeding due to days of sexual torment by her new husband. Abed al Hikmi had taken his new bride to Dr. Fathiya Haidar, who advised the groom to stay away from his bride for several days in order for her to heal. Instead of following the doctor’s orders, al Hikmi continued his assault, assuming his wife’s screams had to do with spiritual possession and not because of the pain or torment that he was inflicting on her. While Elham Mahdi al Assi’s case may seem extreme, it is not rare. Muslim societies attach great importance to male virility and even more to the virginity of young women and girls. The focus often leads to ignorance and hardship, mainly for females whose virginity rules even their earliest years. From not participating in sports or using certain kinds of feminine hygiene products to securing their virginity by opting for a surgical procedure that ensures tearing and bleeding on the wedding night, females bear the brunt of this sort of patriarchal traditionalism. The very same traditionalism also limits the development of educational curriculum that answers questions about the basic anatomy and physiology of both males and females. Although the governments of some Muslim countries, such as Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Bahrain, have approved of basic sexual health education curriculum, most teachers shy away from providing this education due to lack of understanding coupled with embarrassment about the subject at hand (PDF). The teachers’ inhibitions are understandable and beg the question why don’t these governments facilitate the training of teachers expected to educate intermediate aged students on their bodies. Some Muslim countries deserve credit for having taken the lead on sex education. The Indonesian government designed a sex education program after witnessing a rapid increase of teen pregnancies. Plus, the government discovered that the youth are eager to have their questions answered. Turkey has also permitted a limitededucational program in response to teachers noting that girls wanted information about their bodies and how they function. Sex education should not be seen as corrupting youth, but rather instrumental in building a healthy society; such honest dialogue was certainly a part of the early Muslim community. Critics often cite the perceived hedonistic societies of the United States and Western Europe as the failed models of sex education. Though most of these critics have little background in biological or reproductive health, they continue to guide the discussion. Often citing sexually deviant behaviors, they claim the need to protect the family unit and its morals. Ironically enough, many of the societal ills that these detractors fear—teen pregnancies for one—could, in fact, be resolved through kids making informed choices and decisions. Early Islam, whether through the study of Qur’anic verses or the Hadith, taught Muslims about menses, sexual etiquette, fluids, discharges, and relationship problems that could lead to a miserable sex life. Muslims found it natural to educate themselves about healthy sexual practices and relationships because intimacy was seen as a beautiful gift from the Almighty. This gift was also the subject of Muslim literature, both allegorical and scholarly, for centuries, as sexuality was not seen as heretical or shameful. Although this liberal attitude toward sexuality may have been the norm centuries ago, it is no longer part of the Muslim social fabric. Al Azhar University Professor Dr. Ahmed Ragab published a study (PDF) which examined the attitudes in Egypt and North Africa toward HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, and general sexual knowledge. According to the findings, Egyptian adolescents knew very little about the maturation of their bodies, even though some had already begun the awkward transition from childhood into puberty. In Tunisia, over 50% of male students and over 70% of female students believed that varying birth control methods caused serious health risks. Even more worrisome was the lack of testing for HIV/AIDS and STI’s, as most did not understand how they are contracted or prevented. In 2007,the Population Reference Bureau (PRB) released a comprehensive report (PDF) entitled Young People’s Sexual and Reproductive Health in the Middle East and North Africa. The report painted a picture that is rarely seen due to the louder, although less informed, voices of the critics of sex education. Across the board, younger people wanted more information about anatomical and physiological functioning, along with the prevention of AIDS and STI’s. Approximately 73% of female respondents wanted information about menses, physiological development, and reproductive health. Most felt that they could not talk to their mothers or were encouraged to not ask questions. Although sexual education should be made available to both males and females, teaching girls/women about their bodies often stirs up more suspicion and opposition than does educating young men. This is likely due to the idea that a woman’s body and virginity are tantamount to her family’s honor. As a result of many governments’ and families’ stubborn refusal to offer sex education to Muslim women, we find a disturbing number of women suffering from reproductive health problems. Over 70% of Saudi Arabian women who are diagnosed as having breast cancer die because they could not seek treatment or the cancer went undetected in its early stages, due to lack of female-only services. Fifty-six percent of Egyptian women surveyed had some sort of reproductive tract infection (UTI, PID, etc) but assumed pain and discomfort were a normal part of the female experience and failed to visit the doctor. Such ignorance does not honor Islam or the Muslim family. Critics must stand aside or offer solutions based on facts. The Muslim obsession with child bearing and sexual pleasure can only be seen as hypocritical if the Muslim population remains uninformed. Today’s Muslim youth are bombarded with pornography, temporary marriages, and misinformation. If they continue to be ignorant, we risk both their physical health and their spiritual wellbeing.  |
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