Does the S-word scare you?

Sex education before marriage is as important as psychological counselling sessions (TOI Photo)No more uncomfortable silences, or nudge-nudge, wink-wink kind of a situations.
The dreaded S-word will no longer be a taboo for youngsters about to tie the nuptial knot and are blissfully ignorant about sex. All this, thanks to a pre-marriage course being conducted by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.Even in 21st century India, many about-to-be or just-married couples have little academic knowledge about sexual matters.
So, how important is sex education? It is a fact, says Dr Vinod Goyal, a psychiatrist and pre-marital counsellor in Ahmedabad, that most youngsters ���are largely ignorant about sex before they get married. Ignorance about sex has been instrumental in the breakdown of marriages and even resulted in extra-marital affairs.���
Instances of ignorance about sex in aapnu Gujarat are not hard to find. Ahmedabad-based Rina and Vinod Shah have been married recently, but didn���t know the basics of how to have a baby. They had to make a trip to the gynaecologist to sort out their confusion. When the gynaecologist realised that they were not even educated about the basics of sex, they were referred to a psychiatrist. And the Shahs are not alone, there are many couples like them who suffer from misconception about sex and don���t know whom to ask.
Software programmer Vijay Cherupally wants to get married and feels, ���Sex education before marriage is as important as psychological counselling sessions. Elders in the family are often uncomfortable about sharing details and it���s unfair to marry with a skewed understanding of sex.��� Corporate communication professional Netra Parikh admits that in urban India, sex education should start early, which will help individuals to avoid young pregnancies and an unhappy marital life. She says, ���Even I was wary of talking about sex with my friends earlier and had no information. I can���t visualise what other girls from more conservative families must be going through!���
More often than not, porn sites or movies offer sex education. According to Goyal, this kind of information only ���misleads. Youngsters have wrong preconceived ideas about sex which can be harmful.��� Many resort to information about sex online, but complain that it is not of much help. Technical writer Neha Sharma feels, ���online information is not always accurate.���
So, the next time you think the three-letter word is taboo, please do remember there could be information and help at hand as well, only if you know the right place to look for it.
It���s only fair to begin your ���relationship for keeps��� armed with information.