Shazia Mohamed, Founder and Director of Aahung (Pakistan)

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Introduction: A Confusing Beginning
Pakistan's approximately 40 million adolescents, like untold hundreds of millions the world over, receive mixed messages about sexuality. At home, many of them learn that sex is shameful. Their parents fear that providing even the most basic information about reproduction will unleash their sexual desires. Yet on television, teens see sex used overtly to sell items like deodorant and chewing gum. In their neighborhoods, especially in the cities, many are exposed to pornography or perhaps to a poverty-stricken neighbor who must sell sex to feed her children. Many of their peers may experiment sexually, while their teacher skips the chapter in their biology textbook on reproductive processes out of embarrassment or shyness. Religious leaders seldom discuss sex, and when they do their emphasis is usually on the dangers of premarital sex. Furthermore, as Pakistani boys and girls undergo physical changes, the world around responds with a new set of expectations—expectations of roles and responsibilities that are defined strictly on the basis of whether they are male or female. Along with the hormonal changes that accompany puberty, how can these adolescents be anything but confused about their bodies and their sexual feelings?

>>Available from WHO

Summary: In 2002, IWHC made pivotal contributions to an international technical consultation on sexual health organized by the World Health Organization (WHO). Among other outcomes, the consultation produced affirmative definitions of sex, sexuality, sexual health, and sexual rights, available on WHO’s website at the link above. These definitions will serve as a basis for designing future policies and programs, and are an important step toward a broader, more comprehensive understanding of sexual health and rights.

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Summary: By Françoise Girard andWilhelmina Waldman (International Family Planning Perspectives, Vol.26, No. 4, December, 2000, New York: Alan Guttmacher Institute).Examines the international legal framework for the reproductive rightsof refugees and internationally displaced persons, as well as someaspects of UN and NGO policies relevant to refugee reproductive health(7 pages).

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Population and Reproductive Health: Where Do We Go Next?

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Summary: By Adrienne Germain (American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 90, No. 12, December, 2000, Washington: American Public Health Association). Describes the areas of critical concern addressed in the ICPD Programme of Action and offers recommendations for moving forward (3 pages).

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Summary: By Leyla Gülçür (Health and Human Rights, Vol.5, No. 1, October, 2000, Boston: Harvard School of Public Health). Examination of the growing awareness—supported by health research and accepted in recent international documents such as the Beijing Platform for Action—that gender inequalities and violations of women's human rights, are closely linked to mental health problems, which disproportionately affect women (21 pages).

To order a copy of this article, email Whitney Welshimer at wwelshimer@iwhc.org.

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Summary: Prepared by the InternationalWomen's Health Coalition (September 2000). Compiles citations andabstracts of articles and resources related to gender, sexuality, andhealth in the Middle East and the Mediterranean (214 pages).