The education resources I provide will, I hope, lead to greater equality and improved sexual health and rights
‘Are you a doctor, or are you a porn star?” When I first started creating judgment-free sex education content online, I got asked this question almost every day. In India, an ordinary woman talking about sex – knowledgably and without shame – felt unfamiliar, even transgressive, to most people.
Sex remains a taboo topic in India. Victorian social norms and laws, established during British colonial rule, remain central to public attitudes. Homosexuality was only decriminalised in 2018. In 2022, marital rape is still legal. Premarital sex remains frowned upon. And marriage still feels unavoidable, especially for women. Less than 10% of Indian men use condoms, according to recent National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) data, placing the burden of family planning on women.
