Monday 12 February 2007

Gulf News: cock-up or cop out?

The Gulf News ran an interview with Dr Amr Jad, a consultant from Riyadh Armed Forces Hospital, where the doctor said sex education in the Middle East did not need to cover ways of preventing STDs.

Apparently, the doctor's views were "putting a damper on HIV/Aids awareness efforts in the region". I'll say.

This is where editors should get involved. There should have been uproar at the daily meeting and - with a lack of probing questions in the article - there should have been a stern comment piece written forthwith. Much as everyone loves Secret Dubai, we need some baring of teeth in the local and regional media.

6 comments:

Shiva said...

As the good doc said Abstinence is the cure-all. Now let us examine how we can cure other maladies plaguing our society.

1 Digestion troubles? Stop Eating (Abstinence!!)
2 Respiratory irregularities? Stop breathing! (More Abstinence!!)
3 Money related misery? - Stop using money! (hail Abstinence!)

Phew! the list is endless, I will leave you all to figure out the solutions for more problems, for now I need to abstain from typing :)

SIN said...

The GOOD doc also said, and i quote: "Doctors should only address preventive methods if there is already [an infection]. If there is none, then there is no need."

So correct me if i'm wrong, but does this mean that you should only learn about the 'preventive method' AFTER you contract the disease? What a simply fabulous idea!

Apparently, my Sex ED teacher had no idea what she was teaching me...

Anonymous said...

Don't you think this is one of those stories in which you don't need to say anything? His quotes speak for himself don't they?

Anonymous said...

Anon: that level of interpretation is fine if you have a free-thinking, balanced, educated readership.

Does that comment speak for itself?

Anonymous said...

DMO, congrats!

UAE Students said...

Watch the UAE Students blog for a video clip from a recent debate about the need for comprehensive sex education.
The students came up with the idea for the debate, did a lot of research and had an excellent debate.