ISLAMABAD: A “highly objectionable” chapter about the “same-sex family” in an O-level sociology book has prompted the federal minister for education, Rana Tanveer Hussain to write a letter to Cambridge for reviewing the same, local media reported on Wednesday.
Federal Education Minister has assured the upper house of the parliament that a letter is being written after a calling attention notice was moved by senators Faisal Saleem Rehman and Mohsin Aziz. The senators raised alarm bells terming the content being contrary to Islamic teachings and cultural values of Pakistan.
“We are immediately writing to Cambridge to either delete the chapter or we shall not allow such books here in Pakistan. The federal government will also write to the provinces to take necessary steps in this connection,” the minister told the Senate.
The minister endorsed the concerns earlier expressed by the movers of the notice and held that the content has nothing to do with Pakistan, its values and culture. He further said that all the four provinces are signatories to the new national curriculum.
Senator Aziz said the chapter on “same-sex family” could not be even discussed in the country’s family system. “What kind of education is being imparted to a child here,” he posed a question. He also read out some portions of the content and regretted the terms as lesbian and gays used in the book and wondered how such things were overlooked at by the authorities.
