Recent incidents on the safety of women and children showcase that law is not the deterrent force we deem it to be. Humans are a complex species and acts like rape, sexual assault, violence, abusive behavior are just one of the many poor reflections of the need to be in control or the need to dominate someone whom you perceive to be weaker. Therefore, even the strictest of laws cannot really deter this aspect of the human mind, it is a problem at a much deeper level. Perhaps the answer actually lies at the root of our upbringing, i.e. education, yet another factor we can as a society regulate. While access to education itself is a big question in developing countries like India, we also need to shift our focus towards quality and holistic education, which is inclusive of sex education. Opponents of this view, though most of them heavily relying on morality and ethics stemming from our culture, also state that behaviors cannot be changed; but that’s not entirely the truth. While India has always been hesitant towards adopting a holistic approach for sex education, it is time to get serious and get talking about it.

This article will take a different route to state the obvious, by making a case for a strong need for sex education in India based on movies like Chamkila, Oh My God 2, and looking at the recent Supreme Court judgment to make a strong case for adopting sex education curriculum in schools.

Setting the scene: A cinematic take.

Media has been an influential aspect of our lives and normal lives have also played a part in inspiring creators to showcase a realistic vision of what it means to experience this society, uniquely. Oscar Wilde preached the art for art's sake approach but is that still true in this day and age of media consumption? Recent backlash of movies like Animal with highly toxic male leads and violent standards in interpersonal relationships, showcases that our society really wants the cinema to be an inspiration, this is regardless of the stellar box office collection the movie made. It tells us that a large portion of our society has always been ironic. Well, depiction of sex education or its effects doesn’t come without a rider; the debate has always been very intertwined with religion, ethics, and culture in India, not knowing that all of them actually promote a much more liberal view than the one we are being taught today. Regardless of the merit in these arguments, it is still interesting to gain a different perspective through the cinematic lens and understand what actually scares the society to take this subject seriously.

Imtiaz Ali’s Chamkila, an account of the famous and highly controversial singer Amar Singh Chamkila from Punjab gives us a rather harrowing account of how the society is scared of itself. The movie starts with Chamkila looking at “immoral acts” happening all around him; men peeking at women bathing; men sexualizing women; women singing songs about sex at the bridal shower, amongst other instances. As a young mind, he sees everyone enjoying these acts, these derogatory lyrics and soon he grows up to make songs that reflect exactly that, an extreme objectification of women and glorification of immoral sexual affairs. It doesn’t come as a surprise that he becomes a sensation but also a reflection of the society he witnessed. The end of Chamkila was tragic, he became a victim of the society that conveniently withdrew all contribution to his alleged immorality. It made me wonder, was he really at fault for displaying what he learnt? The lack of guidance at an early age, especially in matters regarding consent, privacy, and sexuality, leads many lives astray. Chamkila is an exact representation of what our society fosters, but it fails to acknowledge. This entire dilemma is perfectly tied together with the song, “Vida Karo” that talks of Chamkila being impure while the society being pious and that he is taking their leave now. Chamkila’s fate has become the lived experience of many, though not as glorified, but we can work towards altering the “fault in our stars.”

Interestingly, the very touchy subject of “masturbation” was beautifully addressed in the movie Oh My God 2, a movie aimed for teenagers going through the struggles of finding themselves and not feeling guilty about it. While opponents of sex education in schools talk about protecting the sanctity of our culture, this movie was a beautiful depiction of how our culture actually fostered these ideas in a healthy manner through books like Kamasutra, Kamashastra, Pancharatna, and Charak Samhita which have described the ideas of consent, autonomy, and above all, knowledge of one’s body. The idea behind these scriptures was to prevent exploration through wrong means and understand our needs in a better way. Irony hit again when the movie was actually released with an “A” certification instead of a U/A certification, hindering the purpose of the film in its entirety.

Revisiting the Right to Education:

While discussions on the right to education in India, starting from the Unni Krishnan case, to the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, and Article 21-A being declared a constitutional and legal right, the discussion needs to be revisited. I argue that having adequate sex education should also be a part of this right, as it encompasses a holistic educational approach.
The recent judgment of the Supreme Court of India in Just Rights for Children Alliance v S. Harish highlights the need to have a healthy approach towards sex education in schools. The Hon’ble Court also emphasized ridding the idea of sex education leading to “promiscuity” in children and focusing more on educating these children on the ideas that matter, challenging the notion that sex education is a foreign concept.

Subjective moralities aside, this type of education allows children to tell the right from wrong, understand ideas of consent, privacy, and violation, and makes them more aware of themselves and their rights. It is not unfathomable that if not given proper educational avenues, exploration tendencies will lead them to wrong sources such as porn, which build unrealistic expectations of sex and autonomy. Data released by NCRB and CRY details that sexual violence against children has spiked by 96% in 2022, and the most common perpetrators remain their known kin and close relatives.

There have been several attempts to bring in a robust sex education curriculum, but it has always been met with stark opposition. India is a diverse cultural land, so the idea of sex tends to get enmeshed with either religious beliefs or cultural values, both of which should work towards creating a safer society, especially for children. A study conducted by WHO and another study conducted by researchers in Germany found that sex education actually delays the start of sexual activity in the young population because they tend to be more aware and more careful about sexually transmitted diseases and risks associated with unprotected sexual contact.

Hopeful way forward:

The rather termed “taboo topic” of sex education has not been devoid of controversies in India. Back in 2014, it became a huge issue when the then health minister felt it was unhealthy to discuss sex, and he was joined by a bandwagon, despite India’s rising HIV cases. Since a decade has already passed, it is high time we discuss it to have a better future for ourselves and the younger generations.

The New Education Policy, 2020 is a welcome step in the right direction, which aims to focus more on skill-building and vocational training for students. The policy also talks about promoting regional languages that can be utilized to develop comprehensive sex education curriculums at grassroots levels of the country. I’ve talked in detail about the impact of NEP on gender and how it can help reduce the gender gaps and create more awareness, which can be accessed here.

While we aim at achieving gender equality, we should also use the same to promote safety practices in schools with mandatory sensitivity training to the staff for both practice and imparting the same to the students. Students being aware of the basic principles of “good” and “bad” touch along with introducing ideas of consent and autonomy. I feel, students can be empowered to raise their voice against sexual abuses for each other in case of these instances, and prompt reporting and action mechanisms should be put in place, especially in schools. Law schools and their legal aid cells have already been proactive in promoting this awareness and such institutional partnerships can be encouraged and incentivized.