{"id":244348,"date":"2025-11-15T17:11:19","date_gmt":"2025-11-15T11:41:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=244348"},"modified":"2025-11-26T14:01:02","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T08:31:02","slug":"sex-education-religious-barriers-to-information","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/sex-education-religious-barriers-to-information\/","title":{"rendered":"Sex Education & Religious Barriers To Information"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Geewananda Gunawardana<\/a> –<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Dr. Geewananda Gunawardana<\/p><\/div>\n

Food, sleep, fear, and reproduction are basic needs of animal life. Humans are different from animals in that, if they wish, they can be aware of these functions, have some control over life, and be above normal. That is the message of the country\u2019s main religion, developing mind above normal, contemplating the body, sensation, mind, and natural laws. Science too is trying to understand mind, and in the process, it is rediscovering what has been known for two thousand and five hundred years. Ironically, we Sri Lankans remain woefully oblivious of such matters despite having access to both sources of knowledge.<\/p>\n

This resistance to knowledge is exemplified by the opposition from religious quarters to proposed introduction of sex education in schools. It is as if such education would turn the children into degenerate savages that will bring shame to the nation. Do they realize that it is an attempt to teach the basics of their body, how it changes during puberty, and how that affects their growing minds? What is taboo about knowing nature\u2019s ways? Five years ago, it was the opposition to \u2018Ape Hathe Potha<\/em>,\u2019 a supplementary reader, and now it is about the proposed curriculum. This is a pathetic commentary of the nation\u2019s attitude; as we have never had such a formal education, we have no knowledge about reproductive biology; and based on various statistics, we are not any better than our animal brethren in that department. More about the statistics later, but there is a massive misunderstanding about this topic, and it behooves us to clear up it before proceeding.<\/p>\n

Thanks to our colonial rulers, we have inherited the Victorian prudishness and have equated the word sex to filth. Sri Lanka was number one in Google searches for \u2018sex\u2019 for many consecutive years. No, they were not looking for educational material online, but they were looking for pornographic sites. No wonder we forget that sex is a noun referring to gender, as well as the physical activity of reproduction. It can be compounded with other nouns to convey many other related meanings: act, appeal, consensual, drive, education, forced, fair, gland, illicit, object, offender, opposite, oral, phone, safe, same, and symbol, all of which are important in this context.<\/p>\n

Then the question is what sex education is. I have read \u2018Ape Hathe Potha<\/em>,\u2019 and found nothing inappropriate for that age group. I recall an erudite Buddhist monk complaining that some of the explanations are coarse and the children could learn things and experiment with. How sadly mistaken; when we attain puberty, these things happen. It is nature, keeping hush about it will change nothing. I have not seen the proposed curriculum, but I assume those who formulate it are aware of world standards. The goal must be an evidence-based approach to instruct young people about the cognitive, emotional, physical, and social aspects of sexuality. This approach aims to equip them with the knowledge, skills, and values needed to make healthy and responsible choices regarding their own bodies, their rights, relationships, and health.<\/p>\n

Then we must ask why we need sex education. We have never had a formal sex education. Most of the girls did not know about having periods until they experienced it for the first time. Similarly, there are boys who worry about nocturnal emissions. Even the university graduates, who did not come through the biological stream, have truly little knowledge about these matters. While there is a dearth of information, there are plenty of quacks who exploit the ignorant with remedies for non-existing ailments.<\/p>\n

The major issue is that sexual abuse is deeply embedded in our culture; abuse of young people by those in positions of authority is common knowledge and considered norm. About 90% of women have been harassed and 74% sexually abused in public transport. What is not well known is the extent and diversity of sexual activities engaged by the young at alarmingly tender ages. Most of them are coerced or forced. The public policy advocate and scientist Rohan Pethiyagoda has compiled some of these data in a video available on-line:<\/p>\n