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Lessons related to female and male anatomy, reproductive health, and STDs were recently cut from biology curricula for Egyptian students ages 12 to 17 on orders from Ministry of Education. Schools have been instructed not to teach about "reproduction and propagation" methods or "pollination and fertilization" genetics, and teachers have been told to disregard chapters on these subjects in existing textbooks. New textbooks omitting the lessons are being printed, according to the weekly Al-Youm Al-Sabaa. Teacher-led discussions about the topics will "incorporate the latest information . from sources other than school textbooks," a ministry official said.
Sexual health lessons were first introduced after the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, which asserted the right of youths to receive objective, scientific instruction about reproductive health. Egypt had been among just five Arab countries to include reproductive health in schools. Basic sex education is taught to secondary students in Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, and Bahrain. Some private schools offer such lessons in Lebanon.
Surveys in Egypt show a low level of awareness about reproductive health and STD prevention, especially among women. Less than 2 percent of women in the poorest fifth of Egypt had a basic understanding of HIV, compared with only 16 percent for the top echelon. Men were better informed, but less than a third of the wealthiest males were aware that a person with HIV can appear healthy.
"In the 1960s and 1970s, when people discussed sexuality the focus was on good and bad relationships," said sexual-health advocate Dr. Amal Abdel Hadi. "Now it is only about what is halal [permissible] or haram [sinful], which moves the whole issue into the religious realm." "There will be more misconceptions about sex, marital disharmony, and sexual harassment, and the prevalence of STDs will increase," she predicted.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
