Lets Know…AIDS & Other STDs…

I was browsing through some of my old works when I came across this piece. I must have written it sometime between 2003 to 2005. Surprisingly, its an awareness builder, by a 14 year old. Check it out.

“Recently while humming to one of Reshammiya’s tune near the water tank, I heard some boys talking about sex_a favourite topic among boys. I stood there listening (now! Don’t stare at me like that.) Very soon, condoms and AIDS found their way into the conversation. And then, I was struck by an amazing fact…these boys (all of them were from high school) were largely misinformed about the deadly disease.

They believed in many superstitions related to sexuality. So I thought it my duty to tell them what the truth is. And when I started, I was asked a lot of embarrassing questions; many of them were obscene in the manner in which they were asked. I could have told them to stop talking dirty. I could have gone away from them: but I chose to overlook the filth and answered most of the questions put forward.

Of course, I knew that most of them don’t give a damn about AIDS, but I made them listen to me, because I packaged my words in a way that never fails to grab attention (with boys), like saying “chom, or “maal” instead of girl (i.e. using the lingo that they use).

The feminists around the globe would happily damn me saying that I am a male chauvinist: because I consider them as goods (maal). But I apologize for that. I had to say that to make them listen to what I was saying. Personally, I respect women far too much to think of them as things.

In today’s world, it is stupidity to consider a 12 or 13 year old too young to know about sex (I actually know of children in the school who have had sex more than once.). Times are changing.

Elders should understand that children like experimenting, and if they want to, they cannot be stopped. But at least, they can be made aware of the risks behind unprotected sex.

Coming back to my interactions with the boys: I told them the advantages of using condoms, and many other useful facts. Some boys, when they heard what I was talking about, were shocked. But I think that I did the right thing. Didn’t I?”