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When census gatherers went door-to-door visiting 5.6 million households across Nepal this month, they collected information not only on the country`s men and women, but also on a so-called third gender. In what is believed to be a world first, Nepal`s Central Bureau of Statistics is giving official recognition to gay and transgender people -- a move seen as major victory for equality in a country that only decriminalized homosexual relationships three years ago.

Generations of parents have come to know the awkward experience of having their young child ask: Where do babies come from? After all, talking to one`s offspring about anything related to sex is still somewhat taboo, especially in many Asian cultures. But youngsters are going to learn about sex eventually, so it`s important for their parents to seize the opportunity to give them the right kind of sex education. Much of a parent`s discomfort comes from equating the ‘sex’ in ‘sex education’ with sexual intercourse, which in reality is a very minor part of what kids need to be taught. Sex education - or sexuality education to be more precise - should cover a range of gender-related issues, from why children are born male or female to understanding the so-called third gender.

Publication of advertisements offering child sex selection tools to prospective parents continues in UP despite a ban under Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex selection) Act. The said advertisement issued by a Haryana based private company promises to deliver a `baby gender tool` and an `e-book` at your doorstep for Rs 3200 and claims that by using it, the couple can decide the gender of the baby as per their wishes. Doctors, however, rubbished such claims and said that there is no scientifically proven method, other than in-vitro fertilisation, which could determine the sex of the baby before conception.

For most gay men in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, the law change has made little obvious difference, but they do seem to be louder and prouder. ‘There is no change,’ says Satish, an outreach worker at a drop-in centre for men who have sex with men in Secunderabad, Hyderabad`s twin city. ‘Same harassment by police, same harassment by society, same harassment by goondas [thugs].’ ‘It`s like this,’ another chips in. ‘Section 377’ – ‘only high level people who are going on websites and reading the paper know about that. Not the medium-class people, not the lower class.’

Mechai Viravaidya, the renowned fighter for family planning and safe sex, rallied behind the pro-RH groups and highlighted the importance of family planning in the fight against HIV/AIDS and poverty in any country. The former Thai health minister, who spearheaded an aggressive campaign to promote the use of condoms that reduced the spread of HIV in Thailand, emphasized that a condom is a ‘lifesaver’ and a ‘weapon of mass protection.’