Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Feb;11(2):101-10.

Socio-cultural challenges to sexual health education for female adolescents in Iran

Robab Latifnejad Roudsari  1 , Mojgan Javadnoori  2 , Marzieh Hasanpour  3 , Seyyed Mohammad Mehdi Hazavehei  4 , Ali Taghipour  5
Affiliations

Socio-cultural challenges to sexual health education for female adolescents in Iran

Robab Latifnejad Roudsari et al. Iran J Reprod Med. 2013 Feb.

Abstract

Background: Despite clear reasons for necessity of sexual health education for adolescents, it is a contested issue and has faced challenges in most cultures. Providing sexual education for non-married adolescents is culturally unacceptable in most Muslim societies.

Objective: This qualitative study addressed socio-cultural challenges to sexual health education for female adolescents in Iran.

Materials and methods: Qualitative data from female adolescents (14-18 yr), mothers, teachers, authorities in health and education organizations, health care providers and clergies were collected in two large cities of Iran including Mashhad and Ahvaz through focus group discussions and individual in-depth interviews. Data were analyzed using conventional qualitative content analysis with MAXqda software.

Results: Our results revealed that the main socio-cultural challenges to sexual health education for adolescents in Iran are affected by taboos surrounding sexuality. The emergent categories were: denial of premarital sex, social concern about negative impacts of sexual education, perceived stigma and embarrassment, reluctance to discuss sexual issues in public, sexual discussion as a socio-cultural taboo, lack of advocacy and legal support, intergenerational gap, religious uncertainties, and imitating non-Islamic patterns of education.

Conclusion: It seems that cultural resistances are more important than religious prohibitions, and affect more the nature and content of sexual health education. However, despite existence of salient socio-cultural doubtful issues about sexual health education for adolescents, the emerging challenges are manageable to some extent. It is hoped that the acceptability of sexual health education for adolescents could be promoted through overcoming the cultural taboos and barriers as major obstacles.

Keywords: Female adolescents; Qualitative research; Sex education.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. UNFPA. Comprehensive sexuality education: Advancing human rights, gender equality and improved sexual and reproductive health. [ 2011 Apr 12]. Available at: http://www.unfpa.org/webdav/site/global/groups/youth/public/Comprehensiv....
    1. UNESCO. International technical guidance on sexuality education, an evidence-informed approach for schools, teachers and health educators. Vol. 1. the rationale for sexuality education; 2009.
    1. Tolman DL, Striep MI, Harmon T. Gender Matters: constructing a model of adolescent sexual health. J Sex Res. 2003;40:4–12. - PubMed
    1. UNFPA. Comprehensive sexuality education, Giving young people the information, skills and knowledge they need. [2011 Aug 29]. Available at: http://www.unfpa.org/public/home/adolescents/pid/6483.
    1. Mbugua N. Factors inhibiting educated mothers in Kenya from giving meaningful sex-education to their daughters. Social Sci Med. 2007;64:1079–1089. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources