When 14-year-old Onuska, a student at Lalbagh Government Model School and College, suddenly got her first period, panic set in.
“I thought I was sick,” she said.
“I was so scared I couldn’t tell anyone. Later I searched on YouTube and realized it was normal.”
For Tabassum, a ninth grader at Lalmatia Girls’ High School and College, confusion comes from the classroom itself.
“Our teacher skips the reproductive chapter,” she said.
“We search online, but we get a lot of wrong information.”
These experiences mirror a wider national reality: adolescents often learn about their bodies not from school or family, but from the unfiltered world of the internet.
Surveys and assessments conducted in 2024 suggest that 60–65% of Bangladeshi adolescents have little or no understanding of the biological and psychological changes of puberty.
Yet even these alarming figures remain poorly documented, reflecting the lack of accessible, evidence-based material on adolescent sexual and reproductive health.
Although sexual and reproductive health (SRHR) education was incorporated into the national curriculum in 2013, and made mandatory for all secondary schools in 2022, implementation remains inconsistent.
Teachers frequently skip topics related to reproduction, puberty or relationships due to social taboos, cultural sensitivities and a lack of formal training.
Teachers struggle, parents fear, students guess
According to the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education’s (DSHE) 2023 data, 77% of secondary teachers are trained overall, but the report includes no information on SRHR-specific training.
A 2022 comparative study found that only 10% of teachers had received any form of sexuality- education training.
“I avoid the topic because students start laughing,” said Moudud Alam, a teacher at Azimpur High School.
“But if I had proper training, it would be easier to teach.”
Another teacher, Israt Ara of Dhanmondi High School, said she tries not to skip the chapter but struggles to simplify it: “Parents also object.”
One such parent, Rowshan Khaleda, said: “My daughter is 15. I know she needs to learn this at school, but I worry something inappropriate may be taught.”
The result: students often turn to the internet, where misinformation, pornography and harmful myths circulate freely.
Global models
Many countries have adopted comprehensive age-appropriate sexual education for decades.
The Netherlands teaches body boundaries and “good touch, bad touch” from age six.
Sweden made sexual education compulsory in 1955.
Finland begins “Human Biology and Relationship” lessons from age seven.
In the UK, sexual health and relationship education became mandatory for ages 11 and above in 2019.
In Asia, India’s Adolescent Education Program covers children from age 12, though resistance persists in some states.
These models show that sexual education is not about teaching sex, but about safety, dignity, consent and respect.
A UNFPA 2024 report states: “In countries where sexual education begins before age ten, rates of sexual violence and child marriage are 30–40% lower.”
‘Silence creates fear’
“Sexual education means self-awareness, self-respect and safety,” said Dr Nusrat Zafrin, faculty member at Dhaka University’s Department of Population Sciences.
“If teachers and parents are trained, acceptance will grow.”
Psychiatrist Dr Bulbul Ahmed Khan explained, “Ages 10 to 19 are crucial. Without proper education, misconceptions take hold and create fear, confusion and guilt.”
Unicef’s 2024 report found that 38% of Bangladeshi girls aged 15–18 have faced sexual harassment, yet most do not know how to protect themselves or where to report abuse.
In contrast, countries with early sexual education have harassment rates below 10%.
Seventh-grader Rabbi from Tejgaon Government High School said: “If the teacher explained it properly, we wouldn’t laugh. We would actually learn.”
A mother at the school, Kamrun Begum, added: “My son watches inappropriate videos online. If we don’t teach the right way, they’ll learn from the wrong place.”
Breaking the silence
Experts agree that updating the curriculum is not enough — teachers, parents and communities must shed the stigma.
“Sexual education is about awareness, safety and self-respect,” said Dr Fatima Zohra, associate professor at Bangladesh Medical University (BMU).
“Children who learn about boundaries and consent grow into confident, respectful adults.”
But in Bangladesh, silence continues to dominate.
Until that silence is broken, experts warn, millions of adolescents will remain confused, vulnerable and uninformed — searching for answers in places that may harm rather than help them.
