Women’s Health and Sex Education in Adolescent Girls in India: A Review

Page: 462-465
Shreya Mohan (Innocent Hearts School, Green Model Town, Jalandhar, Punjab)

Growing concern over the health and safety concerns of underage sex has prompted calls for increased initiatives to teach sex education in schools. Teenagers engage in harmful practices and suffer the consequences because of a lack of sex education. It would be foolish, if not reckless, to try to deny that truth. Why deny teenagers the information they need to stay healthy and avoid getting pregnant too soon if it will help them avoid the negative effects of not receiving sexual education? Despite major advances in science, the implementation of sex education in modern schools is hampered by cultural, political, and systemic constraints that strongly influence many layers of teenagers’ environments. Knowledge among adolescent females regarding sexual and reproductive health issues is mandatory to ensure their healthy growth, both mentally and physically, by various agents of socialization, mainly parents and teachers, to prepare them for pubertal transition. Healthcare experts such as psychologists, counselors, social workers, and psychiatrists can be useful in achieving this goal. Women’s health-related policies need to be formed, and sexual education in schools needs to be mandatory. This paper highlights some of the opportunities, intentions to provide relevant sexuality education for young people, potentially exacerbating confusion and individuals who do not conform to societal stereotypes of sex, gender, and ability.