MISSION MANGALYA

A Sex Education Campaign across Kerala

Mission Mangalya is an initiative by Nair’s Hospital, Kochi to impart comprehensive sex education to students across Kerala.

Many people frown upon the idea of introducing sex education in schools because they tend to think that it encourages students to indulge in sexual activities. On the contrary, studies have proven that comprehensive sex education helps children lead a healthier life and gives them a better understanding of themselves and their body.

There is a great need to impart the right kind of information from the right source in today’s world.

India, with its rapidly growing population and advancement in technology, are also seeing an unprecedented spike in child abuse cases. But even in this century, sex education remains a taboo subject due to the deep-rooted cultural attitudes about various issues like menstruation, abortion etc.

Children are a very vulnerable group and the increasing crime rates are a proof to this. Due to the social and cultural diversities in our country, there is a stumbling block to imparting the appropriate information to our children and unfortunately all their knowledge comes from social media, friends and magazines. This burning curiosity is another reason why todays tech-savvy children become victims to cyber crimes.

We at Nair’s Hospital believe that, ” Legacy is not what I do for myself. It’s what I’m doing for the next generation.”

Our team targets children from 4th grade through 12th grade. We have topics assigned for various age categories. Our mission is to conduct 1 session in at least 1 school per district (14 districts) over 12 months.

4th grade – 6th grade (2 hour session)

• Introduction to reproductive system
• Physiology of reproduction
• Physiology of menstruation and menstrual hygiene
• Changes happening to the body and mind during adolescence
• Body positivity and body shaming
• Child abuse – POCSO Act and what to do
• Good touch and bad touch, how to say NO
• Concept of Consent and Boundaries
• 6th grade – what is gender, gender identity and gender roles with help of props, Family and concepts of different types of families

7th grade to 12th grade (3 hour session)

• Introduction to reproductive system – Anatomy of genitalia, hormonal variations
• Physiology of reproduction, menstruation and premenstrual syndrome
• Menstrual hygiene
• Sexually transmitted diseases esp HIV, contraception methods
• Changes happening to the body and mind during adolescence
• Body image, body positivity
• Concept of Consent, Boundaries
• Healthy and unhealthy relationships
• Sexuality – gender, gender identity and gender roles, LGBTQA
• Porn addictions and problems
• What is Masturbatory Guilt
• Family – types of families, normalcy of having different types of families
• Complications of unsafe abortion techniques
• Child abuse – POCSO Act and what to do

Some people think that sex education is just about sex. But in reality, it covers a wide range of topics. Comprehensive sex education informs young individuals about sex, sexuality, sexual health and sexual rights, and other related things at a proper age. These programs offer information on gender identity, consent, and awareness about sexual abuse.   

Both girls and boys must to know about consent, boundaries and when and how to say “no” to unwanted and inappropriate touching, and sex education is important to help fill in these gaps.

We would be glad to associate with your school in this venture.
For any further information, you can mail us at missionmangalya@nairshospital or drop in a message to 98470 22677.