Sex education in madrassas? Yes, in Kishanganj it has sanction of religious leaders

Kishanganj (Bihar)/New Delhi: Madrassas are often perceived as resistant to the idea of modern education, but few Islamic seminaries in Bihar’s Kishanganj district had the courage to go way ahead and introduce sex education.

The move, which was preceded by much discussion and contemplation among the clergy of educationally backward district of the state, got tremendous response as over 1,478 religious leaders agreed to impart sex education to make people aware about HIV/AIDS. Bihar State Aids Control Society (BSACS) has declared Kishanganj a “high risk” zone in view of high number of HIV positive cases.

These maulanas (clerics) associated with 213 madrasas and mosques tried to promote healthy living and awareness about the disease through Friday sermons, jalsas (religious congregation) and daily interaction with their students.

In addition to imparting sex education and spreading awareness about HIV infection through madrassas, mosques and other religious gatherings, clerics also organised meetings at local schools, haats (village market), bus stops and railway stations inviting admiration and at times even ridicule from others.

World AIDS Day is still celebrated at Galgalia Pul Madarassa where over 50 clerics participate and pledge to create awareness among people. They conduct counselling sessions and community meetings with the migrant population. Notably, the forgotten north-east district of the state witnesses mass migration every year because the lack of educational and employment opportunities.

But ironically, the effort, which was an effective and innovative experiment to combat the deadly disease, continued for over one year only to be ultimately discontinued due to lack of funds.

Why were madrassas and clerics targeted for imparting training in HIV/AIDS?

“Kishanganj is a predominantly minority district with large number of madarassas. Clerics are respected in villages and people usually look to them for advice. They have great influence on people in their day to day lives. This is a very important and influential segment of society whose support is crucial for combating the disease. Therefore, we took them into confidence, sensitised and made aware of the consequences of HIV/AIDS for promoting awareness in the society," said Yuman Hussain, executive director of Azad India Foundation, an NGO that initiated the project.

In fact, the decision, she said, proved to be effective because they were able to convince other religious heads to be involved in awareness programme. The religious leaders were then trained by the then medical director of Regional AIDS Training Centre and Network in India, Patna. They were given comprehensive information about the spread and growth of HIV virus.

But convincing religious leaders to come forward and initiate discussion and awareness among the community members on sex was not so easy. It proved to be a Herculean task.

“We faced many difficulties and challenges. The stigma and discrimination attached to HIV/AIDS was the biggest challenge. At times, religion was a barrier as they felt that these things should not be discussed in open. Many ulemas objected to the use of condom saying that we are promoting sin ‘zina’ (unlawful sexual relations between Muslims who are not married to one another through nikah – a matrimony contract in Islam) as people will think that by using condom they can do anything. Talking about HIV/AIDS will remove ‘sharm-o-haya’ (sense of dignity and modesty) from the society,” she said.

“Religion is a sensitive issue and when a religious leader is involved in a program like HIV/AIDS, it is important to follow a cautious way so as not to antagonise religious leaders. Therefore, we approached them cautiously and in small groups through intensive discussions to have better impact. Once they were sensitised, we conducted workshops and interactive sessions with them. Our project team used Quranic verses liberally in convincing the religious leaders as well as community members. Interestingly, all these activities were done at the madrassas and mosques itself. Later, monthly orientations were organised to refresh the information given to them. The main purpose was to involve and educate the larger community as a whole through these clergies. We prepared pamphlets and brochures in Urdu so that they can better explain and spread awareness in the community,” she added.

Asked about the effort brought, she said that “a considerable change was observed, but the environment created could not be sustained because the funding agency stopped funding.”

The border district, which was saddled with 1,370 HIV+ cases in 2006, reported a sharp decline in 2007 when 146 HIV+ cases were detected. It further dropped to 145 in 2008. “We had to drop the project because of lack of funds in 2008,” said Yuman. The HIV+ cases again shot up to 252 in 2009 and was marginally down to 249 in 2010. It, thereafter, dropped to 161 in 2011, only to rise exponentially to 413 till October, 2012, according to official sources.

Sharing border with Nepal on one side and Bangladesh on the other side, Kishanganj has been most vulnerable to the HIV+ menace. The huge migration of labourers to distant places and perennial problem of human trafficking only adds to the phenomenon.

In view of the district’s susceptibility and vulnerability to the menace of HIV, Kishanganj was one of the seven districts in the country and the only district in Bihar where the World Health Organisation (WHO)) had launched the CHARCA programme to contain AIDS in 2004. However, the CHARCA programme was wound up in 2005.

In some villages, Yuman added, people are still unable to accept that this disease can affect anybody. Due to misconceptions, they believe that HIV/AIDS affect only a certain section of the society. Due to poverty and considerable distance from Kishanganj Sadar Hospital, many suspected patients despite having been counselled to get VCTC done are unable to do so.