Futile and stupid.

Faith is a special part of our lives, whether we are "religious" or not. In Kenya you are defined by whether or not you are a person of faith, regardless of the religion you practice. It is why many Kenyan evangelical Christians will make it a point o remind you that they keep their bodies pure by abstaining from alcohol or cigarettes, Muslims will make it a point to express their distaste for alcohol and pork, and so on and so forth. But, regardless of impure fluids and foods, all Kenyan people of faith are united by their hypocrisy regarding the serious question of sex, sexuality and sex education - and their government has encouraged them down this false path.

This hypocrisy was quite evident when debating the pros and cons of the proposed constitution in the second half of 2010.On that occasion there were two things that energised the Christian persons of faith, especially heir leaders. One was, of course, the question of the Kadhis' courts. Couched in weasel words, the opposition to Kadhis' courts was that it would "introduce sharia law" into the constitution, which would be against the will of the people. Those opposed to the Kadhis' courts were encouraged in their fantasy by the High Court which, quite inexplicably, declared one part of the former constitution (the one establishing the Kadhis' courts) as "unconstitutional."

The second was the Right to Life clause in the proposed constitution. Religious leaders, with he support of a vocal minority among their congregants, wanted abortion to banned explicitly and absolutely. They would not countenance the possibility of it taking place, whether it was a medical necessity or not. They were adamant that it was against their faith. They argued that the unborn had rights and that it was the constitution and the State that had the principle job of protecting the unborn. Today, the Kadhis' courts are recognised as part of the Judiciary and abortion is prohibited - save under certain prescribed circumstances.

Today, it is a combination of faith and morality that have energised persons of faith. They equate the two; one cannot exist without the other, they insist. Whether they are right or not regarding the synonimity of faith and morality, their adamant opposition to an effective policy to protect children in schools from sexually transmitted infections and teen pregnancies is myopic and foolish. In teh week that Senator Judith Sijeny introduced her Bill in Parliament, Kenyans were shocked - again - by a report that a twelve-year old girl had given birth in some back water in the Rift Valley and that the father of her baby had "run away" and was "in hiding." I do not remember men and women of faith demanding the swift apprehension, prosecution and, presumably, incarceration of the rapist. I remember the loud silence.

It is the naive who continue to live in a world where children are not experimenting with sex or with their sexual identities. If one watches what is on TV, even our very own local content, hears what is broadcast over the radio, and reads what is written in our newspapers and magazines, it is nearly impossible not to spot both the subtle and overt sexualisation of children and teenagers. Combined with the fact that it is the world that seems to be socialising children these days while their parents are simply struggling to get by, it is inevitable that social institutions that once enjoyed legitimacy are being overwhelmed. Faith-based organisations do not have the capacity to keep an eye on each member of the organisation, personalise the message of faith and morality and guarantee that sexual activity is postponed until a more mature age. (The message is further diluted when men and women who act as faith leaders seem to fall short of their high moral standards on a daily basis.)

If the Government of Kenya is determined to pursue an abstinence-only, no-contraceptives, no-condoms policy, then it must be prepared to take it to its logical draconian end. Strict segregation of boys and girls must begin when they become adolescents and enforced until tat least the day they turn eighteen or, more morally preferable, the day they get married. The no-mixing rule should be enforced by a special police-and-prosecution unit that will enforce the ban with violence if necessary. To prevent the risk of temptation, what is broadcast or published in Kenya will meet strict moral requirements. Just for the hell of it, why not just ban pictures altogether?

By now you should be able to sense he utter futility and stupidity of that approach. The genie is out of the bottle. In a world of twenty-four-hour entertainment, a great proportion of which is laced with sexual innuendo, teenagers are going to have sex, no mater what. And instead of equipping them with weapons to keep them from harm, we intend to handicap them further. The teen pregnancies - indeed preteen pregnancies - are about to see a surge. Tenn sexually transmitted infection rates are about to spike. And all because our faith and high moral code will not allow contraceptives and condoms in secondary schools.