Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Youth issues have always been a cornerstone of many heated debates. Issues that need to be discussed openly range from under-aged smoking, the use of drugs and under-aged sex.
Many people may view the latter as a 'taboo' topic that is not supposed to be written or reported about for fear of angering those in authority.
This column, however, is known for its ability to break the boundaries of silence and therefore I intend to write about it.
Sex, if you notice, has been a very sensitive issue in Bahrain. Sometime ago a certain doctor and society decided to break the silence and encourage sex education for youngsters here who believed that they should have the right to sit through a seminar in which sex was the subject being talked about.
Sex education is the norm in many countries where it is usually taught in schools to students as young as 12.
Many have now voiced their disapproval of those who encouraged such debate in Bahrain.
I am against it for several reasons. Call me old-fashioned but I believe that certain things must be left at home to be talked about and taught by parents themselves rather than being discussed widely in the open in schools and community centres.
Certain issues, such as sex, must be left to the discretion of the youngsters who feel that there is a certain time and place to talk about it with their own parents.
Allowing it to be taught in public only arouses their curiosity. I think that sex is taught more in the West because teenage pregnancies, the spread of HIV and Aids are more common amongst the youngsters there. Therefore, I believe that sex-education should be taught in the West, however, not on our tiny little island of Bahrain where I really do not see such issues occurring.
It is true that the saying "better safe than sorry" has been used by some doctors and youth societies, but really, do we want to encourage pre-marital sex in a society that is conservative and religious as well?
Such things should be left to the choice of the youngster himself to ask and not for authorities who have nothing better to do than speak for us without asking first.
As much as we want to be liberal and adapt to the ideal of freedom of speech, ever so glamorised nowadays, we should realise that seeking solutions to non-existent issues can only cause trouble.
