Parents resist comprehensive sexuality education

MBABANE - Parents in the country are challenging government’s decision to impose Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) on children without parental consent.

The parents are calling for the government to affect clear and transparent processes and measure to protect the children from the CSE agenda. The parents alleged that the agenda was being pushed by international agencies and other allied organisations from several Western governments.

They further alleged that the CSE was using deceptive strategies to further their radical sexual rights agenda. The parents raised 15 concerns with the ESA Ministerial Commitment on sexuality education and sexual and reproductive health and rights service.

The parents reflected in their concerns that the role of government is not to teach children to negotiate sex, in order to obtain optimum health outcome, but the goal should be to encourage children to wait to have sex until marriage. The parents challenged some of the contents in the curricula guide and said some were irresponsible.

They challenged page 277 of the African Regional Comprehensive Sexuality Education Teacher Training Module. They said the paragraph where pupils were advised that for them to decide whether to become sexually active or not they must feel close to the other person, be comfortable talking about using a condom with that person and feel sexually attracted to the person, was irresponsible.

“It is irresponsible to teach young hormonal teens that this is the criteria for deciding to have sex instead of encouraging abstinence until marriage. Teaching them that the right to pleasure, sexuality and to choose if and whom to be intimate with should not be prioritised ahead of sexual health and abstinence. It is a clear sign of irresponsibility from the side of government to teach learners how to identify the skills they will need to be able to negotiate a safe and comfortable sexual relationship,” read some of concerns by the parents.

Target 1 of the CSE reflects that all adolescents and young people must be taught sexuality education through in and out of school programmes. The parents highlighted that while it was modified by using the terms ‘age appropriate’ and ‘evidence based,’ these qualifiers were meaningless and deceptive.

Recognised

The parents further recognised the need to address teen pregnancy, prevent HIV and STI infection among other health needs of their children.

“Any attempts to introduce and promote values, practices and behaviours that were contrary to the values and Christian beliefs and principles parents and families are instilling in their children, is a direct attack and ruthless undermining of the rights of the parent to provide for, nurture and protect their children,” said the parents.

The parents said the implementation of the CSE was against the cultural and religious values of Eswatini families and further compromises the health and wellbeing of children and the youth. They added that the curriculum was a vile attack on the dignity and health of children and families.

One of the issues raised by the parents in the 15 concerns was the issue of masturbation which was cited in the curricula as a normal part of sexual expression for most people. It was raised that the children were to be taught that self sexual gratification does not cause a person to go crazy or blind.

Exposed

“No Eswatini parent wants their child exposed to sexual grooming through exposure to pornographic material, explicit sexual content or any sexual information under the pre-text of sexuality or sex educa

tion. On one hand the country, through its laws is fighting sexual violence against children and youth under 18years old and on the other hand teaching them about sexual pleasure; this is very confusing and dangerous,” said the parents.

On Monday December 6, 2021, in Durban South Africa, Ministers of Health, Education, Gender, Youth from various African countries endorse the ESA Ministerial Commitment which calls for accelerated implementation of CSE.

During a virtual meeting with Permanent Secretaries held in December 3, 2021 some countries including South Sudan and Uganda chose not to express their position stating that they were conducting internal review and consultation on the document and, therefore, were not endorsing it.

When contacted for a comment, the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Education Bhekithemba Gama said the country had endorsed the CSE, but had to also adapted it to the norms of the country’s education system.

He said in the country the CSE was known as Life Skills Education and it incorporates the sexual education. He confirmed that the parents did lodge a complaint and as a ministry they considered what the parents were saying, hence they came up with the LSE syllabus.

“We adapted it and called it Life Skills Education. The syllabus is available and you will be surprised when I tell you that we do not teach ngekulalana (sex) but life skills. I can assure the parents that we have looked at the syllabus and we have cleaned it such that it is not harmful to their children,” he said.