Row over HIV/AIDS teaching manual continues

A row over a book published in 1999 designed to help Kyrgyz teachers promote HIV/AIDS awareness and healthy lifestyles is continuing, involving everyone from parliamentarians to parents. A group of conservative activists, who claim the book encourages young people into sexual experimentation, are trying to sue one of the authors for US $100,000 in damages and have forced its withdrawal from schools. "In the given book, the moral norm is violated and does not correspond to the mentality of Kyrgyz people at all. The manual teaches our children sexual relations, which are taboo," Akin Toktaliev, leader of the group that succeeded in getting the title banned from schools, told IRIN in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek. But of 20 chapters dealing with such issues as basic hygiene, a healthy diet and the importance of exercise, only two are devoted to the topic of HIV/AIDS, venereal diseases and sexual relations. Boris Shapiro, head of Kyrgyzstan's National Aids Centre (KNAC), and the author at the centre of the libel case, is upset that the book has caused such moral outrage at a time when HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are on the increase in the Central Asian nation. “This textbook is designed for teachers, not students. It was the result of painstaking work by KNAC, the government, international organisations and the ministries. We, the authors of the book, are accused of advocating sex, but how come 70,000 teachers have successfully used it for more than four years?" he asked. According to the latest official figures, 610 people in Kyrgyzstan are HIV positive, but AIDS activists put the real figure at more than 10 times that number. HIV is largely spread by rising intravenous drug use fuelled by cheap and available heroin from nearby Afghanistan. A UNAIDS programme officer in Kyrgyzstan, Kubanych Takyrbashev, told IRIN that the book, simply called "Healthy Lifestyle" was one of the first attempts in the former Soviet Union to fill a gap in education. "Before this [book] there was nothing." It was acknowledged at the time of publication by the state and civil society that such a book was badly needed. "Our neighbouring countries are still using it as an optional textbook that helps teachers. So there is no question about the importance of the text," he added. The third version of the controversial book had a regional circulation of 50,000 and was financed by USAID. Each Central Asian country received 10,000 copies. It proved so successful in neighbouring Kazakhstan, education authorities there had to print additional copies. "There have been no complaints from Uzbekistan - a more Muslim country than Kyrgyzstan - and 5,000 copies were published in the Uzbek language. Tajiks have translated it themselves into their language and now use it as manual for teachers,” Shapiro commented. Teachers who used to make use of the manual before the blanket ban are also concerned. “This book is timely. Our school kids have no other source of accurate information, this society is still very traditional. Most parents would rather die than bring up these topics with their children," a senior teacher from Bishkek school number 42 told IRIN. Despite the ban, many teachers continue to run lifestyle education programmes inspired by the prohibited book. "At our school, this subject has been positively recognised both by children and teachers. We still teach about the healthy way of life, in other words, we have not stopped teaching just because the book has been withdrawn," Svetlana Vikulova, head of the teaching department at secondary school number 29 in Bishkek, said. Parents appeared to be unhappy with the banning of the education manual when asked by IRIN. “I understand the resentments of some parents, but I cannot explain such things to my daughter. A competent explanation by a specialised teacher at school is so much better than a tongue-tied explanation from a mum," Dilya Shorpaeva, mother of a 10th grade student, said.