Kids are the future everywhere. No exceptions to this rule. How and what they are taught will determine the shape of things to come in this tired world of ours. Nigeria is now a divided nation. The 3rd Nigerian International Secondary Schools Model United Nations Conference (NISSMUN 2007) will be held at the International Conference Centre, Abuja. The theme of this conference is a very necessary yet provocative one: Culture and Religion in Reproductive Health and Rights. The choice of theme has alarmed both the Islamic and Catholic right wings in the country.
The first thing they ask is whether it is at all necessary or even appropriate to talk to kids about sex. The organizers, of course, feel that unless the issue is addressed directly, there is no stopping the mortalities arising out of AIDS etc. AIDS is the single most fatal disease in Africa today and estimates suggest that one out of four in Africa has been affected directly or indirectly by AIDS.
Also, childhood pregnancies are on the rise. Young girls, hardly able to manage themselves, are having unprotected sex and getting pregnant too young. These girls are facing flak from mainstream society. In short, their lives are a mess even before they begin truly living.
The Catholic Church on the other hand has strict dogmas against both abortion and ‘protected’ sex. The last Pope John Paul II ruled strongly against both abortion and unprotected sex. Pope Benedict now is also known to be a hardliner. He has repeatedly called Catholics to eschew abortion and give up the use of the condom. Bishops in Africa are known to have preached against the efforts of the UN to increase safe sex amongst the African youth and as some complain, considerably hastened the spread of AIDS in the continent. So, this schools’ meet has inevitably raised the hackles of Catholic clerics. Islam too condemns abortion and certain safe-sex practices. The conservatives in Nigeria are thus alarmed at what they see as a corrupting summit.
Yet their rants notwithstanding we have to ponder on the following issues:
a) Let’s admit it: people generally like sex, and more young people all over the globe are engaging in pre-marital and unfortunately, pre-adult sex. They are going to have sex whether someone sitting at Rome or some Islamic cleric feels peeved. In fact, those who consider pre-marital sex a sin must also understand that sins will hardly disappear from the earth as long as God does not wrap up His Kingdom. So, we have to forgive the sinner and may be dislike the sin but we cannot neglect the sinner’s welfare. So if we do not allow abortion, protected sex, then are we not harming kids in the name of charity and the highest form of love?
b) Is not science a gift of God? So if God has given us the wherewithal to save lives and hundreds from living hells, should we not use such means as to protect them? At least this kind of a conference will force a student somewhere to reach for a condom before he has sex. At least students will know what to do if things go wrong. They’ll know that they are not alone; someone will not judge them but accept them and help them.
Yet we have to be cautious in not pooh-poohing the Church or established religions. They are in a sense the age-old experience of civilizations codified. When their dogmas tell something, we must be respectful and hear them with humility. May be, in truth it is not right at all to have pre-marital sex. Sex outside of marriage may be ecstatic for the time being, but sex without commitment and love in a world where the AIDS virus loves promiscuity is very dangerous.
Picture Source: Thinklab
