Latest Introducing our new series on teens and sex | Editorial 2011

One of our duties as a community newspaper is to report on and illuminate relevant, topical issues.

This is our goal with a new two-part series called “Student life: let’s talk about sex.” We interviewed parents, teens, teachers, and physicians to get the scoop on the reality of being young and having sex, what resources are available, and what parents can do.

We hope our reporting sparks conversation between parents and their kids. Understanding sexuality helps kids deal with their feelings and with peer pressure. It helps them take charge of their lives and have loving relationships.

We think the most important place to learn about sex is at home. If we can help our children feel good about their sexuality from the very beginning, then they are more likely to trust us enough to ask questions about sex later on in life.

We hope our coverage of this topic will help open the door for a conversation between parents and their children. It might be uncomfortable, but your kids will thank you later on.

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Indian girls fall further into minority in latest census 2011

India's population has grown more than 180 million in the last ten years to 1.2 billion, but its proportion of girls has fallen to its lowest rate since independence, according to the latest census.

Officials said they were alarmed at the tilting of India's gender balance further towards boys amid growing concerns over the impact of female foeticide by families who prefer sons.

According to the census 914 girls are being born per 1,000 boys compared with 927 per 1000 in 2001. India now has 623.7 million males and 586.5 million females. Census Commissioner C. Chandramauli said the figures were a "matter of grave concern".

Dr A.L. Sharada, of the charity Laadli, which works to raise the status of Indian girls, said girls are still seen as a burden in India. "Marriage and dowry is the biggest burden for parents in India and the amount of money the parents need to shell out for a daughter's big fat wedding makes them a burden for their parents," he said. Boys, however, are seen as future breadwinners who will stay with their families.

The alarm over India's declining sex ratio overshadowed the striking growth in its population to within 120 million of overtaking China as the world's most populous country. India's population is forecast to overtake that of China in 2026, but the census revealed early signs that the growth is starting to slow.

While it has more people than the United States, Indonesia, Brazil, Japan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan combined, its growth rate had fallen to 17.6 per cent from 21.5 per cent ten years ago. Its first time population growth has fallen since 1921.

 

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