Opinion: Only Disturbing Part In The Nitish Kumar Row Is His Apology
“Everything is about sex, except sex. Sex is about power.”
While it is unclear whether the author and enfant terrible of Victorian-era London, Oscar Wilde, ever made the above statement, psychoanalysts across decades have largely agreed with the idea.
Who would have thought, however, that even talking about sex would engender power play in India’s political stadium where there are more misses than hits?
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s speech on sex education and population has created an entirely unnecessary furore where issues like reproductive health and fertility rate are being overshadowed by the usual balderdash on propriety, culture, and that dangerous thing called honour.
India remains in the unenviable top spot when it comes to maternal and infant mortality rates. Earlier this year, a UN report indicated plateauing of gains made in reducing deaths related to maternal health. The most recent National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) gives an insight into this depressing trend. Only 10% Indian women can exercise autonomy over their own health. The survey also suggests a disturbing mind-set: 11% women find marital violence acceptable on account of the husband’s sexual demands not being met by the wife.
Those going ballistic on Nitish Kumar giving graphic details of heterosexual intercourse and the pull-out method for birth control – using only euphemisms – in the state assembly are probably being ostriches. When you are in a state of emergency, propriety in language ought not to be the mainstay of any argument. And let us not kid ourselves anyway. All our cuss words revolve around women’s genitalia and crude phrases describing sexual acts, often forced.
It has been proven conclusively that lack of sexual literacy is the main source of several sexual hazards including STDs and unintended pregnancies. In a culture where not only women’s sexual pleasure and desires are marginalised but also their health, thanks to the lack of sexual literacy, understanding the role of language is germane to the formulation of comprehensive health and population control policies.