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Cultural traditions abandoned at UNPF essay competition
VIENNA. Jan 19: Cultural traditions that usually prevent the young from speaking up were abandoned at an essay competition organised by the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF). reports IPS.
Contributors from 107 countries made clear what they wanted to hear about: sex, procreation. sexually transmitted diseases and the practice of parents marrying them off at an early age. More than 500 boys and girls provided a range of views on society's perceptions of gender, family planning and contraceptives.
"I have seen that in my society. discrimination begins from the first moment after birth." wrote Mushira Sadd Al-din Mahmud Zaidan. a 19-year-old female student of fine arts in Cairo, Egypt, whose essay was among 17 chosen from Africa. Asia, the Caribbean. Eastern Europe and Latin America as the best of the lot.
She found common ground with 18-year-old Carolina Leonar Ruiz Herrera from Guatemala in describing the
"gloom" that descends upon a family when the new born is a girl - and the happiness when it is a. boy.
"When it's boy, everyone is very happy and there is the famous expression 'you won the lottery,' yet when it's a girl, peo-[>le say-with satisfaction but ess fanfare-'now your home's little servant has been born," wrote Ruiz Herrera in describing how the girl child is viewed in her and many countries.
Under the theme promoting responsible reproductive behaviour the competition was held just before the Second Worla Youth Forum last month in Vienna. The 17 — the youngest of whom is 14 while the eldest 23 — were given traveling scholarships to visit the Vienna youth forum.
The competition was organised to give voice to young people and assist the UNFPA in its work with youth — especially in the areas of sex education and information — a spokesman for the agency said in Vienna.
What emerges from reading of the essays is the clear conclu-
sion that young people are aware of problems and dangers related to lack of sex education, family planning and early marriages. Most participants are at a crucial, yet somewhat troublesome stage between childhood and adnlthood. "Not as innocent as children, but also lack adult maturity and capacity for independent thinking." is how Quan Zhou, an 18-year student from China, describes this phase. And it is here that they say they badly need information about sex. and about all the (biological) changes that occur in their bodies as they enter the adult-
"I wondered once about my body and why these changes were happening." Hari Ghimire. a 20 year old journalist-youth worker In Nepal said. "No 1 know about these things, but between 12-18 we just were amazed . . . why these happened, how they happened." Ghimire told IPS.
In Nepal, for every 120 births one woman dies and 13 out of 100 children die before
reaching the age of five. "Like Mona, most of them don't know the danger of early pregnancy — the risk of birth complications and physical depletion." he
Lack of sex education, these young essayists agree, are reflected in the poor health conditions of mothers and children and of equal importance is their concern about child-hood pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS.
Like Ghimire. Jean Marie Nsambu. coordinator of the Young Christian Students (YCS) in Kampala. Uganda, also chose the agony of a young woman who has suffered due to AIDS to portray the consequences of ’traditions'.
Jane Lunninze. the tragedy-struck 'heroine' here, has already lost her husband who left her with a child, her elder brother and her step sister to the deadly disease which has ravaged Uganda. And while mourning the death of her step sister at her grave yard. Lunninze knows that she. too. had the disease and perhaps her rel
atives will have come again to the cemetery soon, this time to bury her.
How did this fate be fall her? having dropped out of school at the age of 16. she. "like many village girls, could do nothing but seek a man for cohabiting. The final choice for marriage unfolded before her after sleeping with countless men during the search." writes the 23-year-old Nsambu. And. like her compatriots. men with money exploited her poverty by trading sex for money, he told IPS in an interview.
All through these tragedies, or perhaps just because oft hem it appears that children are more aware of issues like contraceptives and family plan ning. However, as the essays suggest their problem is lack of accurate information.
In one story Seema Chauhan, director of better life option at the Centre for Devel opment and Population Activi ties, a Washington based NGO describes the situation in many societies.
According to the stdfy a
young school girl, who had been going out with a boy for some time, did not want’to have a child, but was handicapped by the lack of knowledge about contraceptives and family planning. She went to one of her teachers asking for advice. The teacher was shocked at the request and declared she is not supposed to talk about such things. To do that, she supposedly told the young girl, a permission from the Education Ministry is needed. But the teacher did show one avenue: perhaps a doctor could help her out. the young girl was told. She then went to the doctor The doctor was not shocked, but said the girl has to bring a letter from her parents declaring their consent I heir daughter getting such advice
Strange as though it may sound most of the youths want the sex education to start not at school but at home Parents should feel free to talk to children.' insists Ghimire It thev don t then children will lie vtc