Vaniecia, 16, once learned about sex education in ninth grade at school. However, it was brief and did not really explain what sex was. When she brought up the subject with her parents, they merely told her that she would find out herself soon enough.

“My sister was the one who provided me with the education that I should’ve received from the beginning,” she said.

Vaniecia felt fortunate that her sister was willing to explain to her what her parents and teachers refused to, but for her a question remained: “What about underage [children] who find out about sex themselves and have false interpretations of it?”

Sex education remains a taboo subject for many parents in Muslim-majority Indonesia, but the recent release of Dua Garis Biru (Two Blue Stripes) has ignited a discussion on the importance of having the bird and the bees talk.

Starring Angga Yunanda and Adhisty Zara of JKT48 fame, Dua Garis Biru follows the tale of high school sweethearts Bima and Dara as they navigate their teenage lives, which are turned upside down when they engage in a tryst.

Director and writer Gina S. Noer made Dua Garis Biru with the parent-children discussion in mind, hoping that it would spark a conversation between both parties.

“If I’m being honest about my family’s openness on sex education, my own brother didn’t even attend the movie’s premiere. When I pressed him about it, he said that he felt uneasy watching it because he has three daughters.

“It’s because we’re reluctant to have such discussions in my family, but it’s also because of that reluctance that my husband and I try to be more open to our children to at least understand the basics, like setting boundaries and knowing one’s self,” Gina said.

Since its release on July 11, Dua Garis Biru has found major success, becoming the country’s second-biggest box office hit this year with 2.5 million viewers.

Some parents and teachers reportedly banned teenagers from watching it, accusing the movie of showing indecency. But the backlash is nothing compared to the outpouring of support from groups such as the Indonesian Planned Parenthood Association (PKBI).

“The movie underlines how important it is to provide comprehensive sex education for children and teenagers in Indonesia,” PKBI executive director Eko Maryadi said.

Najelaa Shihab, the founder of family education portal Keluarga Kita, said the conversation should ideally be initiated much earlier in a child’s adolescence, as topics on emotion like setting boundaries and expressing feelings could become part of the lesson when moving on to love and sexuality.

“Sexuality isn’t just about biology, it’s more than bodily responses and hormones. When we talk about preparing a child for the outside world, I know for a fact that some parents are more uncomfortable talking about emotion than genitalia,” she said.

Najelaa did not dismiss the religious approach, believing that good sex education needed to include the norms and values of society. 

“However, it’s not enough […] it should also be followed by science and knowledge.

“What we most often associate with religion is prayer, which does not necessarily mean that they will internalize the religious values and practice it in their everyday lives,” she said.

The 2017 Demographic and Health Survey (SDKI) showed that 8 percent of boys and men and 2 percent of girls and women aged between 15 and 24 had engaged in premarital sex. Of those girls, 12 percent said they faced unplanned pregnancy.

Teenagers with pregnancy out of wedlock are heavily stigmatized by society and often subject to discriminatory treatment, like being expelled from school. This has led many to terminate their pregnancy at illegal clinics as abortion in Indonesia remains prohibited in most cases, unless the mother’s life is in danger or in cases of rape.

Data from the PKBI show that 47.3 percent of women with unwanted pregnancy underwent unsafe abortion procedures before heading to PKBI clinics.

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— Erica is an intern at The Jakarta Post

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