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Emirati author to publish kindergarten ‘sex ed’ book

EXCLUSIVE: Three book plan for school children; earlier book prompted death threats.

BOOK PLANS: Emirati author Wedad Lootah. (ITP Images)
BOOK PLANS: Emirati author Wedad Lootah. (ITP Images)

An Emirati social worker who wrote a bestselling book on sex education has said that she plans to write a series of three books on the subject for kindergarten, junior school and high school pupils.

“I want to write something for the younger generation, from kindergarten to high school,” Wedad Lootah told Arabian Business in an interview. “It’s all about the development of children and the sex education they need.

“First there will be a picture book for kindergarten that will grab their interest, and then for the bigger ones, grades one to six, there will be Islamic teachings in simple language,” she explained.

“Then for the higher grades who already know everything, there will be the dangers and the negative effects: what is right and what is wrong.”

Lootah, who wears a full-length black niqab, is the only female counselor at the Family Court of Dubai. Her first book, entitled ‘Top Secret: Principles and Etiquette of an Intimate Marital Relationship’, was first published in Arabic last year and became an instant hit, selling more than 17,000 copies.

The book deals with a number of topics of a sexual nature.

It has now been published in English for the first time, to the dismay of hardline critics. Although approved by the Mufti of Dubai, the book was censored in Saudi Arabia, and its opponents have declared its topics taboo. Lootah received death threats from conservatives who argue she is guilty of blasphemy.

Lootah’s second book is currently awaiting publication in Arabic. It is expected to hit shelves in the summer.

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