Schools, Sex, and Shame: Exploring the Experiences of Teachers with Sex Education in Schools in Pakistan

• In Event: 50260 - Section on Asia and Asian America Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 9: Reproductive Norms, Practices, and Politics in Contemporary Asia

Abstract

Due to the religious and conservative culture of Pakistan, the female body is often seen as the carrier of social reproduction and the family’s honor and shame. Discussions relating to the female body and sexual and reproductive health are seen as taboo and are thus often silenced. The lack of exposure and unavailability of trusted adults and safe spaces where young girls can share their experiences and curiosities fuels the alarming statistics and experiences of gender violence and inequity in Pakistan. School-based sex education is a potential font for students’ access to information and safe discussion, but few scholars have investigated the topic in Pakistan. My dissertation explores public narratives, official curricula, and the daily school experiences of teachers around sex education in girls’ schools in Pakistan. Using in-depth interviews and analysis of curricular material conducted in about 11 urban secondary schools and nineteen teachers, the study will provide insights into perceptions of sex education though the teachers at three levels: the school, the family, and the females. I have interviewed female teachers associated with these schools for this purpose. Such a three-pronged approach offers a more in-depth exploration of how gender dynamics and the construction of womanhood in school relate to concepts of shame and familial honor defined across the community. By highlighting students’ and teachers’ formal and hidden experiences of sex education in a social context where educating young women about their bodies and their fundamental biology can trigger an uproar from parents and the community, I aim to improve our understanding of how to support young women’s sexual and reproductive health in Pakistan.

Author

• Farah Basit, University of Wisconsin - Madison