What you should know about safe ... ?

SRHR awareness training
picture curtest - Youth action Nepal

The core issue of our society has been lack of understanding and sensitivity towards girls/women who has to experience the menstruation flow not just for the first time but every month. This is also one of the most debated topic in our dailies and still this needs more open discussion. Because, during period she is told not to go to temple or some ‘pure places’ not to enter in kitchen and touch this and that as well as do this and that.

How bad the condition of awareness in our society ?

In some remote part of the country young girls or women are sent to cowsheds to sleep during those four days. That tradition do not change even if it's cold and raining outside. ‘Chaupadi’ is the taboo of menstruation in our society. We keep reading about it in our national dailies and this is one of the things that needs to be addressed properly.  Taboo, stigma are our main target areas to work in when it comes to gap the age old norms about the belief ;that revolves in menstruation. 

What every girl should know about the deadly virus as well as safe sex ?

What every girls and women needs to know about AIDS / HIV is, when a man emits sperm into her body, he spreads the deadly virus into her. Unlike other sexually transmitting disease, women do not spread it. She is the recipient of it and he is the giver of it. That is one of the reason women should be more aware of sexually transmitting disease. This is why it's makes it more important to know about the sexual and reproductive health. If she is aware of it she may be more careful during sexual activity.

Does safe sex mean protecting us from STDs only ?

That would be a mistake to presume that safe sex means to protect you and your partner from sexually transmitted disease. This also means to protect you from unwanted pregnancy. There are times in a month both sex can be sexually active but not get pregnant at the same time.  According to mum’s junction, “Safe period is from day 1 to 7 and day 21 to the rest of the cycle, when you can have sex without worrying about getting pregnant.”

Whether you know about safe sex or not the emission of sperm from a man into your body will not protect you from the sexually transmitted disease. Safe sex is a knowledge of the time when you can practice sex without using any protective yet not be the victim of unwanted pregnancy. There may be time this knowledge may not protect you from the victim of unwanted disease. That is why it's better to know about the contraception and use of it. The best way is to avoid the sex with unknown man.

What you should know about safe sex and condom ?

According to the US department of Health and Human service, even if men use condom, “of 100 couples each year whose partners use male condoms, about 18 women may get pregnant. Condoms are more effective at preventing pregnancy when they are used correctly and when you use them every time you have sex.”

Safe Abortion

Now in Nepal the abortion has been legalized despite there are people who still try to link it fetus murder. To avoid the fetus murder the would be mother was allowed to have safe abortion under  three terms only.

• When the pregnancy is only 12 weeks old.
• When the pregnancy is 18 weeks old and the fetus is diagnosed with serious health hazard
• Or if bearing the child can pose serious health threat to the would be mother.

SHRH awareness program for college students
picture curtest - Youth Action Nepal

What is the connection between period and pregnancy ?

Period which is the monthly flow of blood from all girls/ women is a sign that now she is capable of making new life, if she comes in  contact with a man. But for that new life she must be in a sexual contract with a boy.

Do girls get pregnant before period also ?

There are some cases reported like this. But, such case happens only if she has been sexually abused long before her mind and body is fully able to grasp what is going on in her life.

Is period blood is impure as believed by some conservative mass in our society ?

The person who perceived this notion is ignorant when it comes to reproductive science. He is made of same blood you and I are born and it's the same period blood we are made of. In that contest do you want to believe you, I or he is impure ?

If period blood is bad and impure and yet we are healthy when we were born, does this mean the sperm works as a detergent agent to clean the blood ?

Sperms do not act as a detergent agent nor it purifies blood; so that the we can have a healthy child. During the sexual intercourse a normal healthy emits 300 - 500 millions of sperms. What all these millions of sperms do is to travel to find an egg so that a new life can be formed. Do you know of that millions of sperms, only 100 sperms reach to the egg. But, only one sperm can enter into an egg.

Youth Action Nepal is an NGO which works in the SRHR area and this is one of the core thematic issue of the NGO also. So, I really wanted to know what have you done ? I met Mr. Santosh Bhandari, Program Coordinator to give me some insights of the work that has been going on . on ground level since long. It's a lot different than reading Dr. Aruna Uprety and Rameshwory Panta. These two are the one who has strong voice and they do  advocate of girls and women real condition in our society and they write about it in our media. They  raised voice on it but there are some NGOs who work on field in different level to tear the generation gap than which is better like that saying action is better than the reaction.  We had ran 104 episodes of radio programs in all five districts of the country he answered to my curiosity. Further, he made it clear that the true intention of such program was to tear the taboo, stigma as well as to aware the youth and adolescence on Sexual Health and Reproductive Rights. This program tries to answer all the question which an adolescent or youth has to face in this matter.  The biggest challenge any NGO like us face is to tear the generation gap and age old culture that grips our society very badly. To gap the generation, education and awareness level has to be wide and long term. The age old belief and cultural value of the society is not going to change overnight so we must keep working on this line relentlessly.

Mr. Santosh Bhandari, and Punya Bhandari  being
interviewed about the SHRH issues in one of the
radio program that ended in 2016

Behavior change is long term process and we can't expect it to happen overnight.

Aau Sangai Kura Garau : Radio program aired areas and FM station where it was aired.

1. Saptarangi FM - Jhapa
2. Radio Dhangadi - Kailali
3. Radio Simara - Bara
4. Radio Madan - Pokhara
5. Radio Hamro Pahuch - Dang