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  • Essay / The increasing prevalence of premarital sex in Indonesia

    It is now widely established that the prevalence of premarital sex in Indonesian societies, particularly in large cities, is increasing. Estimates of the prevalence of premarital sex in contemporary Indonesia are as high as 42%, distorting the claim that premarital sex does not occur in Muslim societies. A significant number of studies on youth sexuality, both qualitative and quantitative, have established the reasons for increasing rates of premarital sex, as well as the health implications of this in Indonesia. The impact of universal education and the increasing participation of women in education, as well as the Indonesian government's promotion of later marriage, have significantly prolonged the single lives of young Indonesians. When people marry later, we might also expect the number of relationships they are likely to have before marriage to increase. The increasing prevalence of premarital sex can itself be seen as a matter of concern from an Islamic perspective, as it contradicts Islam's goal of promoting positive marital sexual relations and avoiding the consequences negative aspects of sexual behavior when it is not subject to social regulation. . However, premarital sex that occurs without young people being equipped with the knowledge and skills to negotiate safe sex also poses an immanent threat to their health. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get the original essay The health consequences of early pregnancy and childbirth are widely documented, as are the risks associated with abortion at risk. Although comprehensive statistics on the health burden of unintended pregnancies are not available for Indonesia, it is estimated that between 15% and 20% of maternal deaths can be attributed to complications resulting from unsafe abortion. Singarimbun further estimated that 50% of induced abortions in Indonesia are due to complications. in response to premarital pregnancies, and that up to 25% of all abortions performed involve young, unmarried women. Due to the illegality of providing contraceptives to unmarried people through Indonesia's family planning program, the risk of unwanted pregnancy and abortion is significantly increased for young women. Additionally, the lack of comprehensive sexuality education for young Muslims increases both the chances that they will engage in unsafe sex and the likelihood that they will make the decision to have premarital sex without sufficient informed of the possible consequences. Attempts to promote sex education in families in Indonesia have been largely unsuccessful because the majority of parents do not have the knowledge, skills or confidence to effectively educate their children. Furthermore, widespread intergenerational taboos regarding communication about sex have not yet been eroded. Recent research has established the high level of misinformation held by young Indonesians about reproduction and sexuality, as well as their explicit desire to better understand their bodies and the social and religious context of sexuality. Ethnographic research with young Indonesian women aged 16 to 24 found that the majority had an understandinglimited or incomplete puberty, menstruation, and symptoms of common reproductive health problems that are not necessarily related to sexuality. These included conditions such as reproductive tract infections, premenstrual syndrome, endometriosis, infertility and various forms of cancer affecting the reproductive system. The majority of young Indonesian women and men also do not understand exactly how conception occurs and do not know how to avoid pregnancy or illness, including HIV transmission. Many young people do not understand the technical definitions of female and male virginity, or what exactly masturbation is. All these questions were raised regularly by young women during educational workshops conducted in a regional city in eastern Indonesia. This lack of knowledge is problematic for young people, whether or not they have sex before marriage, because this information is essential to maintaining their sexual health once married. Currently, comprehensive sexuality education is not mandatory in public schools and is often completely absent from primary and secondary school curricula. Schools that offer biology as a subject often offer only one course on reproductive physiology, usually in the sophomore year of high school. Student evaluations of these biology courses reveal that limited content is transmitted and retained, and furthermore that the mode of teaching is generally book-based with no opportunity for questions or discussion. In communities that have taken the initiative to offer sex education outside of the formal curriculum, annual seminars are held for high school students, which tend to be more interactive and informative. However, these seminars are usually held on an ad hoc basis and the speakers are rarely trained as sex educators, so their effectiveness is limited by these factors. Based on available research on limited attempts at sex education in public schools, it is clear that the peer education model is by far the most effective among Indonesian youth. The success of this mode of education can be attributed to its continuity, emphasis on the social and religious aspects of sexuality and the preference of young Indonesians to discuss sex and sexual health with people of the same age and of the same sex. Islamic schools, or weighing, are not regulated by a central agency and are therefore in a similar situation to public schools in that they are not required to provide sex education. However, in perdren, especially those where the teachers are younger, sex education is offered as part of religious education. Progressive Islamic teachers view sex education as an integral aspect of educating young Muslims about their gender roles and obligations within marriage, their responsibility to maintain good reproductive and sexual health, and how sexual mores interact with worship. Although there is no standardized curriculum, from perdren to critique, the religious education I was fortunate to observe in Java and Lombok is based on a sex-positive approach to sexuality (even within the framework of marriage) and places strong emphasis on the mutual rights of women and men. and obligations within Islam. As progressive Islamic organizations in Indonesia (including Fatayat Nahdlatual Ulma and Muhammadiah) begin to take responsibility for sex education through their schools and social programs, the largeThe majority of young people still do not receive the comprehensive education they need. Another common gap in young Indonesians' Islamic knowledge is that, according to the Quran, both partners have the right to sexual satisfaction within marriage. Most alarming is that many young Muslims do not understand the difference between zina and sex within marriage. They incorrectly translate the stipulations against zina to apply to marital sexual relations. Therefore, they suffer from a negative attitude towards human sexuality as a whole. When haram acts (prohibited by religion) are misunderstood, this leads to their stigmatization. The stigmatization of sexuality leads to shame, guilt and denial, which is not how sexuality as a whole is depicted in the Quran. For young Muslims to develop an accurate understanding of how Islam constructs and values ​​human sexuality, they need comprehensive sexuality education developed and taught from an Islamic perspective. The simple definition of zina includes all acts of sexual intercourse between a woman and a man that occur outside of a religiously sanctioned marriage. Zina is also commonly referred to as fornication or illicit copulation within Islamic law (Sharia). The term zina appears explicitly in the Quran, initially in the context of a general warning against adultery which translates to: rape, incest, extramarital affairs, prostitution, premarital sex and statutory rape , as well as homosexual relationships. The inclusiveness of the concept of zina is a crucial issue in the sexual relations of young Muslims in contemporary times, because although zina technically refers to sexual intercourse in the Quran, it is often interpreted to include non-sexual forms of sexual contact. penetrating. Acts such as kissing, hugging, hand holding, caressing, oral sex, mutual masturbation, and other forms of non-penetrative sexual interaction are not explicitly mentioned in the Quran. However, they are often considered to fall under the concepts of both aurat (the private body) and zina. The concept of aurat relates to the modesty of a person's body and the requirement that intimate body parts should not be seen by others outside of sanctioned intimate relationships. Unmarried women are required to protect the private parts of their bodies from being seen or touched by a man who is not their guardian. There is ample evidence from non-Western and Western contexts that comprehensive sexuality education delays the age of sexual initiation and reduces the incidence of unplanned premarital pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections among young people (World Health Organization health, 1997). This evidence strengthens the argument that sex education can help young Muslims adhere to the religious ideal of premarital abstinence, rather than encouraging them to have premarital sex. In an era where the age of marriage is steadily increasing, education has clear benefits that can help delay sexual initiation. Opportunities to prevent premarital sex and delay sexual initiation should be seen as distinct, but can be better understood as complementary possibilities coexisting along a continuum of ideally safer and better informed choices for young people Indonesians. While there are many examples of how sex education empowers young people to better take responsibility