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Kathmandu Saturday June 16, 2001 Ashadh 02, 2058.
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Ideal belief
Istrongly object to the letter titled "Concern over
abortion right" of June 12, 2001 TKP.
Thapa focused his objection on two burning issues in our country: the first is
"sexual education to our children", and the second is "women’s right
of safer and legal abortion". He completely disagrees with both of the above. I want
to put across an alternative opinion on these two issues.
We do try to obey our social and religious beliefs and
values. Virginity before marriage is the ideal, but the reality is that in today’s
society, can this belief stop young people from having sex? There are many external
influences (as well as internal desires) that lead young people’s behaviours to act
differently. So, this raises the question of what is more important to us. Our bodies, or
our religious beliefs?
The solution lies in attempting to reach a position that
respects both of these views. Research evidence illustrates that keeping young people
ignorant about their bodies and their desires is likely to lead to earlier sexual
experimentation and greater risks being taken. This evidence also shows that sexual
relationship and education within a values framework, lead us to start sexual activity
later, and better use of contraception amongst those who do have sex before marriage.
It is misleading to cite examples from the US. In that
country, there are many different approaches, and there is now clear evidence that the
‘abstinence only’ movement does not work. Reductions in teenage pregnancies and
abortions have been achieved as a result of better sex education in schools, access to
friendly sexual health centres for young people that provide counselling and contraception
for those who need it.
On the other issue, Mr Thapa stated that women should not be
given the right to abortion. Is the ego of a man speaking here? Are we still of the
mentality that men will decide whether women should be given the right to abortion or not?
Why don’t men leave this matter to women? Only women know what it would be like to
have an unwanted pregnancy and men are not going to carry the baby in their wombs for nine
months, and raise the child after that!
This is all happening to women’s bodies and, since the
baby doesn’t have individual existence, he or she is surviving upon the mother. So,
it is the right of the mother to decide whether she wants to have the baby or not!
In our country, as the data shows, among every five women
imprisoned, one of them is imprisoned for committing illegal abortion. Although our law
doesn’t permit abortion, is it able to prevent those abortions which are happening in
many doctors’ clinics and nursing homes? Is the law applicable only to poor and
innocent women who neither can afford a doctor for safer abortion, nor can hire a lawyer
to fight for her in the court room. This is the big tragedy for women. And talking about
men, I heard very rarely of men being punished for their role in the circumstances that
lead to abortion in our country. Don’t you think men are equally responsible for it?
So I assure Mr Thapa that giving the right of abortion to women will not violate
men’s rights and you don’t need to campaign for men’s rights movement!
Leena Shrestha
Kathmandu |
