Unconventional Weapons in Turkey's AIDS War

To wear a condom or not to wear a condom? That is the question Turkey's Health Ministry is posing to young people, enlisting Shakespeare, Chinese history and a chorus of singing condoms in an effort to spread awareness about the dangers of AIDS.

With the help of UNICEF, the ministry has produced a handbook to educate young people on the dangers of AIDS and the importance of condoms -- often a taboo subject in a country that is largely Muslim and conservative, but where sex before marriage is becoming more common. "It's a new approach," said Dr. Unal Ertugrul of the ministry's department for monitoring STDs. "We're trying to address young people in a jokey style that they will identify with."

The book, which will be handed out free to young people in universities, cafes and cinemas, aims to address what authorities see as a dangerous ignorance about contraception and STDs. Titled "Never Without My Guardian Angel," the book's cover features a chorus of condoms singing a verb conjugation: "I protect, you protect, he protects, we protect." In conveying its message, the book draws on sources from Shakespeare to folk songs. In one section, an elderly condom explains to a young one the history of male contraception.

Despite its lighthearted approach, the book aims to close a serious information gap about STDs. A recent study by Ankara's Hacettepe University found that only 14 percent of Turks use condoms. Turkey introduced sex education in state schools just last year. Influential Islamic groups have opposed giving children information about sex and contraception, which in conservative rural areas is largely taboo. Men often shun condoms. As of June, Turkey had 1,200 registered AIDS cases, many of whom are men who have sex with prostitutes from former Soviet states, officials said.

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