How Could “Sexuality Education” be Interpreted as “Obscenity”?: Legal Attack Against Dr. Tasnim Jara Reveals a Dark Reality
When public health leaders try to educate citizens about sexual and reproductive health, the backlash they face often reveals a darker societal problem. The recent legal attack against Dr. Tasnim Jara—an Oxford-educated Bangladeshi doctor known for her work in promoting vaccine awareness and public health—shows how easily genuine efforts at sexuality education can be misrepresented as obscenity.
Supreme Court lawyer Barrister Mohammad Humayun Kabir Pallab recently sent a legal notice demanding punitive action against Dr. Jara, bizarrely accusing her of promoting a “pornographic culture” through social media. Alongside her, another doctor, Dr. Jahangir Kabir, was also named. No clear evidence was cited—only a chilling reminder of how women’s rights and public health activism can be weaponised against those trying to drive social change.
Dr. Tasnim Jara, with nearly a million followers across Facebook and YouTube, has spent years making medical knowledge accessible. Her organisation ‘Shohay’ actively promotes evidence-based information on sexual health, menstrual regulation, sanitary hygiene, and broader reproductive rights—topics still considered taboo in parts of Bangladesh.
Facing the accusations head-on, Dr. Jara issued a powerful public statement:
“When you enter public life with clean hands and open intentions, you imagine the struggle will be about ideas. About policy. About vision. But before they argue with your ideas, they try to stain your name.”
Her words cut deep into the hypocrisy of a society that demands silence from its changemakers.
Sexuality education is often misunderstood in conservative societies. Basic topics like menstrual hygiene, contraceptive use, or safe sex practices are essential for young people’s health and empowerment. According to UNESCO, comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) can reduce risky behaviours and lower rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unintended pregnancies among youth by up to 40%. Yet, activists like Dr. Jara are facing baseless defamation instead of appreciation.
This legal notice is not just about one individual; it risks silencing all progressive voices working in public health and sexual rights advocacy. Bangladesh has made commendable progress in reducing maternal mortality and expanding contraceptive access. But regressive actions like this threaten that hard-earned progress.
Dr. Jara remains resolute: “Let them speak. I’ll keep working.”
Her resilience highlights a critical need—to legally protect educators and activists promoting sexual and reproductive health. Weaponising the law against SRHR advocacy not only threatens women’s rights but also harms national health outcomes.
At a time when Bangladesh needs credible voices to combat misinformation around sexual health, reproductive rights, and menstrual hygiene, targeting figures like Dr. Jara only pushes the country backwards.
Social harmony cannot come at the cost of silencing the truth. It must embrace education, evidence, and rights for all.
Source: Daily Observer
Picture Credit: The Business Standard
