Teenage pregnancy has always been seen as a problem of the western world but the hard reality is that it exists as much in our society as it does in the west. Pre-marital sex is not just common to cultures abroad but also to our culture, whether we are willing to accept this or not another thing. Pre-marital sex and teenage pregnancy is a definite component of our society, period! It mostly goes unnoticed due to the social stigma attached to the unwed girl or her family. Teenage pregnancy is more a problem in rural societies of India than in urban set ups. The poor soul is seen as an outcast and the stigma is carried for a life time or even for generations ahead. Urban India is changing by the day. With live-in relationships, pre-marital sex and free sex on the rampant, it’s a completely new world but rural India is unfortunately not moving with the same pace. With problems of pre-marital sex and pregnancy come other issues like HIV and AIDS. Authorities need to create a larger awareness among these poor rural folks about the use of contraception other wise we will all soon wake up to another set of a very different kind of problem. Its time we admit that the difference between the cultures of India and the west on this particular issue is ‘not that pre-marital sex exists in the west and does not exist in India’, but that the west is more open on these issues and therefore register it while in India it’s a very hush-hush thing and there is no way an anyone is going to find out about it! This is a call to move on from a state of denial to that of acceptance of reality and finding a solution quickly to avert more future problems.
September 20, 2024