Blog # 8
Kathryn Summers
SOC 202-01
March 18, 2011
3:05pm
In September of last year, a school opened in Malaysia for girls who were pregnant. It is hoped that the school will allow some anonymity and girls will be able to overcome some of the social stigma of having children outside of marriage. The school will add to its programs medical check-ups and religious counseling. The opening of this school is in response to “about 70 babies” abandoned last year. In Malaysia, young people, “especially Muslims, are expected to abstain until marriage.” This social expectation leaves many young girls feeling they must abandon their babies to hide that they have pre-marital sex. The women’s minister says that “the root of the problem is the lack of sex education in schools.” She has long advocated a class on health and reproduction be added to the curriculum, but the religious leaders say “it will only encourage more teens to get pregnant.”
A global social problem in education is how to handle sex education. The UN Millennium Goals insist on education for all, but what to teach is a murky area. Many babies are abandoned, and many young people contract STDs and STIs all over the world. It is a common belief among our culture, that sex education in schools will help alleviate some of this large problem. Religion and cultural differences stand between ideas and implementation. A dilemma comes when we try to determine whether the student’s right, to education and safety is equal to the people’s right to religious practices.
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