A focus on sexual conduct of our youths

Gone are the days when parents and other guardians in a family used to monitor what magazines we bring home and what TV shows or movies we may watch. As the world becomes more interconnected than ever before, young people now, with computers or mobile devices and the internet, gain access to pornographies and can watch them in the privacy of their own rooms, or elsewhere clandestinely. Continued exposure to these graphic visuals may lead to sex. It is prompted by a curiosity that most of the youths in our society experience regarding man-woman biological ties. Against this unsettling backdrop, the sexual conduct of unmarried young people deserves special focus. With the fast spread of HIV/AIDS and their assuming of epidemic proportions in many countries, the sexual health problems of young people have warranted an urgent focus globally. The book 'Romance and Pleasure: Understanding the Sexual Conduct of Young People in Dhaka in the Era of HIV and AIDS'  by Lazeena Muna portrays the social and cultural setting of urban Dhaka to understand sexual conduct and the factors that contribute to sexual health risks, including pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, especially HIV, among the unmarried and university and college-going young people. The book, which is mainly based on the author's doctoral research work at the University of London, also presents the situation in a wider context, by examining gender-related values and societal norms on the nature of relationships among young people.
The book is divided into eight chapters. The first chapter discusses the HIV and AIDS situation in Bangladesh. HIV/AIDS is usually called a scourge prevalent among the young people.  Now the question arises if Bangladesh is at risk of a large-scale HIV outbreak. To answer this question, information is required on the proportion of population that is engaged in high-risk sexual behaviour, and also what proportion of them is currently infected with HIV. Unfortunately, lack of proper knowledge and widespread myths and misconceptions regarding transmission of HIV among young people are prevalent in our society. This undesirable situation, the author observes, may lead to higher rate of unsafe sex. The second chapter focuses on the social concept of masculinity, femininity and marriage. Marriage is a central pillar in the social view of sexuality in Bangladesh. Many social norms and expectations regarding sexual conduct stem from the concept of an ideal marriage, in which a 'virgin' woman enters the extended family of an older and economically established man. The middle-class society in urban Dhaka values educational and professional achievements. It is observed that arranging marriages of daughters at the right time while ensuring the completion of their higher education becomes a double challenge for parents. Young women too express frustrations and sadness at the formidable task of balancing a bright career with a good marriage.
Chapter 3 analyses parental attitudes towards premarital sex and the role of parents in socialising and disciplining their children. Most parents express a negative attitude towards premarital sexual conduct. These are reflected in the strict regulations and the diktats they impose on their children. It is clear from the evidence presented in this chapter that most young people fear to develop the skills and emotional strength necessary to negotiate personal freedom. Parent-child communication in the middle-class families is somewhat one-way. It tends to result in negative instructions regarding sexual conduct, which are often vague and confusing. The author argues that the style of parenting may have an important impact on the sexually risky behaviour of the young people.
In the subsequent chapters (4, 5 and 6), the author attempts to analyse the types of sexual conduct observed among young males and females. It is true that strong social sanctions against sexual intimacy outside of marriage exist in Bangladesh. At the same time, an increase in the average age at marriage, and enrolment in higher studies provide young people with newer opportunities for mixing with the opposite sex. This is specially the case in urban Dhaka in which the combined effects of modernisation, global media, and gender advances are gradually changing societal views and expectations of male-female relations and are starting to exert a profound impact on sexual behaviour among the unmarried young people. Many young people secretly evade parental and social restrictions, but at the cost of jeopardising a woman's reputation and thus her marriage prospects.
Chapter 7 presents the range of meanings, perceptions, and understandings of sexual conduct that contribute to an in-depth view of safer sex practice among young people in urban Dhaka. The young people exhibit a striking lack of awareness of their personal sexual health risks and safer sex practices. Although many young people know what AIDS is, there are many misconceptions surrounding it.
Author Lazeena Muna observes, "Unprotected sexual intercourse and sharing of unclean syringes were the two modes of HIV transmission that were most cited by respondents. While general knowledge regarding the transmission of and protection from HIV was accurate, important cognitive deficiencies were discovered on deeper analysis, particularly misconceptions on STI [sexually transmitted infections] and HIV transmission and protective measures. Many respondents did not clearly understand the concept of safer sex or transmission of infection. For example, one female respondent reported that 'perverted sex' - that is, having sex with more than one person on the same occasion - as opposed to unprotected sex, led to HIV infection."
In the concluding chapter, the author describes the background as well as major findings of her study. She also draws our attention to the epidemiology of risk: "The findings support the conclusion that (while) the majority of unmarried, college-going, middle class young people in Dhaka are at serious sexual health risk, especially a small group who is at high-risk of contracting STIs and potentially at risk of contracting HIV." The fact that sex has become very common among unmarried young people today is undeniable. It is a taboo subject because talking about it openly means acknowledging that such an "issue" exists. As a society, we are more accustomed to shutting our eyes and ears to the problems rather than facing them. When will the time arrive for us to improve the sexual health of our young people by promoting responsible sexual health behaviour?
The writer is an independent researcher.
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Romance and Pleasure: Understanding the Sexual Conduct of Young People in Dhaka in the Era of HIV/AIDS
By Lazeena Muna
Published by University Press Limited (UPL), 2005
ISBN: 984-05-1734-1;
pages 183