The Status of Sexual Health In India and Steps to Improve
By Nmami Life Editorial 12-Feb 2021 Reading Time: 4 Mins
Sexual and reproductive health always remains an ignorant topic in India. People in India are always aloof about this concept and hence due to lack of information and knowledge, people started facing plenty of sexual health glitches. The taboo around the topics related to sexual health is the sole cause of the complications which people face daily.
According to a 2019 report by the Family Planning Association (FPA), India, “14% of pregnancies amongst women aged under 20 are unplanned. It posits further that over 34% of adolescent married girls admitted to being physically, emotionally, or sexually assaulted. 50% of maternal deaths among girls from 15-19 years of age occur due to unsafe abortion practices.
The Indian demographic is youth dominated and it is quite important to prioritize their issues, give them accurate knowledge and information, talk to them freely about the concepts of sexual and reproductive health in order to diminish any further complications. Because of the absence of complete sexual education, inaccessibility, erroneous sex-education due to early exposure to porn, the youth and people are getting lack of knowledge around contraceptives and other sexual health topics which leads to unhealthy sexual practices and ill-reproductive health around the youth. Meaningful development of an individual is also interfered by this means. Due to the gender-based discrimination, women always remain in the wide-angle when it comes to sexual and reproductive health and its maintenance and due to the burden of household chores, marriages, sexual relationships, and childbirth, many women forget to take proper care of their reproductive health.
There is a lot of stigma related to sexual health due to which public discourse related to such topics never takes place and therefore sexual and reproductive health has never been seen as an important part of human well-being in India which ultimately pushed healthy sexual health into the backseat in the lives of many people.
Your mom, teachers, and elder people around you might have hidden this information from you but healthy sexual health can make you happy from both inside out. Maintaining healthy sexual health is not only important for a healthy sex life but it also helps in boosting your immunity, relieving the stress and improves your mood by releasing the feel-good endorphins.
Here are some tips to improve sexual health:
- Add in kegel exercises in your workout routine
- Consume a healthy and nourishing diet
- Quit smoking
- Say no to alcohol
- Drink plenty of water
- Manage stress in healthy ways
- Make sure to get a good sleep
Over to you
India must take proper steps towards the education of sexual and reproductive health in order to remove the taboo, health complications, and to cultivate the gender equity norms. The proper knowledge to youngsters and the initiation of certain services or programmes concerning this topic cannot only lead to a happy and healthy sexual health but it can also increase the fertility rates and accelerate progress.