Sex education in Nepal

Coinciding with the start of their adolescence, the topic of sex education is first introduced to students in the sixth grade. They are taught the basics, mainly about the sex organs and reproductive health. This is supposed to serve as the base for what they will be learning in the next few years. Instead, the concept of sex education only gets shallower from there.

Students presently realize the importance of sex education from foreign media but have limited sources to answer their questions. Ayushma Chhatkuli, a tenth grader at St. Xavier’s, Jawalakhel, says, “I think the main problem in Nepal regarding sex education is the narrow minds of people. Parents are not comfortable talking about these things with their children and teachers are quite shy, too.”

With most families not able to talk about this freely, students have no option but to rely on their coursebooks, which requires an overhaul itself.

“The entirety of sex education in the Nepalese curriculum covers the basics only,” says Shreya Shrestha, a staff member of Yuwa. “There is so much to cover in the subject, especially the rights individuals have over their own bodies.”

Shrestha, the coordinator of Yuwa’s Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights program, further went on to say, “The curriculum is lagging behind in Nepal, with no plans of expansion and growth in sight. Furthermore, with Health, Physical, and Environment Education being optional in grades 9 and 10, there definitely are students who are not even aware of the little that is taught.

“Primarily, sex education should prioritize and teach teenagers about safe and healthy decision making; they need to be taught about positive attitudes that they must adopt both physically and socially. Also, myths and misinformation on a topic like menstruation can be resolved through proper sex education.”

However, before sex education can help people’s lives get better and even easier, myths about the subject itself need to be cleared.

“There are people who think that sex education does more harm than good, that knowledge on the topic makes them sexually active,” Shrestha clarified. “However, there have been studies that show that people who have been educated are actually more aware and make good and correct decisions when it comes to matters about sex and reproductive health and rights.”