Psychiatrist Reacts Ministry's Sex Segregation

Müge Tamar, a clinical psychiatrist from Children and Adolescent Psychiatry Association of Turkey, said sex segregation practices in education would negatively impact on children's self-esteem. 

Reminding the youth ministry's recent order to separate girls and boys during overnight train ride to a youth camp due to security issues, Tamar emphasized on the interaction between children from different genders.

 "Our sexual identities develop during our adolescence which means adolescents need to identify and direct their desires and orientations in that period. It is wrong to induce all interaction between boys and girls as purely sexual," Tamar told bianet.  

 "There are various ways in which adolescents interact with each other. When an adolescent approaches another from an opposite gender, s/he explores their thoughts and emotions and learn how to connect with them. This connection may manifest itself in the form of a relationship, which is crucial for one's self-realization and future decisions regarding relationships."

 Tamar said raising children with a method oblivion to the current realities on relationships would have negative impacts on children's self-esteem. 

 “Most children are aware of what's going on in the world thanks to communication technologies. Our role here should to orient them instead of restricting them. We shouldn't alienate our children from the realities of the world. Sex segregation isn't compatible with the realities of today's business, socialization and family life." (YY/BM)