Dr. Mehdi Navid-Adham, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme Education Council, has submitted a proposal titled “Sexual Education in Schools” to the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution. If approved, the measure would provide a more comprehensive sex education program for students in middle and high school.
“The proposed scheme adheres to Islamic values and teachings. We will implement it with great care and according to the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution’s guidelines,” said a post on the website of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, citing Dr. Navid-Adham. “The program is part of a broader effort by the Ministry of Education to inform, educate, and protect students.”
“The aim of promoting abstinence, chastity, and hijab is to protect students against social harm,” Dr. Navid-Adham explained. “Easy access to social media and the internet exposes our children to harmful material. That is why we have taken a more direct, decisive, clear, and transparent approach to the issue. So far, we have not addressed the problem head on, but that will change as we develop the program.”
“The Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution is reviewing the ‘Sexual Education in Schools’ proposal, which is a sensitive issue and must be handled with great care. Otherwise, it could cause serious harm to our children,” Alireza Kazemi, the deputy Education Minister, said. “One of the country’s main legal institutions must have oversight of the program and set a clear guideline for its implementation to prevent any harm that may come to children because of negligence or lack of robust rules and regulations.”
[Translated from Persian by Fardine Hamidi]
