Peer Sex Education in India: Aparna Bhola

The New York Times has an article about Aparna Bhola, a teenager in India who is taking the initiative to teach her friends and peers about sex education:

Aparna, the daughter of a sex worker, noticed how her mother and other sex workers in India were often shut off from adequate health care due to stigma against their class and occupation. This inspired her to study gynaecology and pass her learnings on to others in her situation:

Growing up in red-light districts, Aparna says she was distressed by the way doctors routinely mistreated sex workers because of the stigma against their profession. Her mother, diagnosed with uterine cysts, was unable to get treatment for them because of the bias against sex workers. Aparna remembers a niece being refused treatment by a doctor who said he didn’t want to bother with such poor people. 

When sex workers like Aparna’s mother would become pregnant, the “doctors would treat them so badly,” Aparna recalls. “They would yell at them, and even slap them sometimes. They would say things like ‘You go and pick up anyone’s child and come to me with your stomach swollen. When you were doing it, you enjoyed yourself and now what happened?’ ” 

These encounters made Aparna want to become a gynecologist. Even when she was younger, she would share with her friends and peers whatever sexual health-related information she could find. 

“I want to work with gynecology to cater to sex workers because I know the issues they faced,” says Aparna, her face set in a determined expression. “If I became a doctor, I could give whatever information the mothers need when they are pregnant. There would be someone to talk to them nicely when they are in pain.”

Her approach is open and directly combats shame:

“There’s nothing to giggle or be shy about; there’s no shame in it. It’s important for us to learn about these things. Be totally bindaas (carefree) and ask me questions,” says Aparna Bhola, with a wide smile.

and this approach is well-received:

“We are all girls, so we should know about this because in the future we might be pregnant at some point,” said Haseena Sayyed, 16, who attended the sex education workshop. “Earlier, we used to think that when we get our periods, the blood that is there is dirty. But when you’re pregnant, that blood goes to your child, so it is so it is not dirty; it is useful.”

Here's a short sampler of one of her classes, this one being about what to do during a pregnancy: