Sexuality and ‘silence’ among Khasi youth of Meghalaya, Northeast India

Abstract

The importance of sex education has been well documented in the literature, but there exists a lack of research involving indigenous youth in India. This paper describes perceptions, knowledge and attitudes towards sex education, sexuality, pre-marital sex, rape and homosexuality among indigenous students from the matrilineal Khasi tribe attending a university in Meghalaya in northeast India. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected during and after reproductive health, sexuality and life skills courses. Despite the impression of sexual permissiveness of indigenous peoples that exists in India, students reported a societal silence on issues related to sexuality. Lack of appropriate words in the indigenous language potentially contributes to this silence. Although co-habitation is common and culturally acceptable, students disapproved of pre-marital sex. The influence of Christianisation was also perceived in the frequent reference to sin and guilt associated with masturbation, homosexuality, pre-marital sex and abortion. Students reported that the sex education received in school was 'childish' and inadequate for their adult needs. Many had unrealistic images of what constituted 'normal' sex and also blamed women for rape. The majority of indigenous students expressed the need for non-judgmental fora for discussions on sexual health and for sexuality education.

Awareness and attitude towards reproductive and sexual health rights and practices among college students: An empirical study

“…Sex education in India is met, most often than not, with fury especially, from the older generation on the ground that it corrupts the youth and it is antithetical to Indian tradition and values. A similar acknowledgement of the need of sexual and reproductive health education was also recorded in a study conducted in Meghalaya where the respondents admitted that the minimal sex-education received in school was inadequate and majority of indigenous students expressed the need for non-judgmental fora for discussions on sexual health and for sexuality education (15) . Another cross-sectional study conducted in Haryana, India recorded the same overwhelming support towards the need and importance of sex education.…”

Socio-sexual norms and young people’s sexual health in urban Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan: A qualitative scoping review

“…Findings around a lack of intergenerational sexuality communication between young people and older adults are extensively supported by literature reporting on silence around sexuality [8,26,45,47,[60][61][62][63]. As with other global studies, our review found that lack of communication was predominantly reported as being due to embarrassment or shame around the topic of sexuality as well as expectations of premarital sexual abstinence [60,61,63].…”

“…Findings around a lack of intergenerational sexuality communication between young people and older adults are extensively supported by literature reporting on silence around sexuality [ 8 , 26 , 45 , 47 , 60 – 63 ]. As with other global studies, our review found that lack of communication was predominantly reported as being due to embarrassment or shame around the topic of sexuality as well as expectations of premarital sexual abstinence [ 60 , 61 , 63 ]. While the included articles focused on parental norms towards unmarried young people, perceived norms among young people could also have hindered obtaining necessary information on sexual health.…”