When I started the Muslim Youth Project in 2008, I certainly had some very bold ideas about the direction and scope of the project but when I found myself presenting about it two years later at the Vienna YouthForce pre-conference (the youth pre-conference at the International HIV/AIDS conference) a few days ago, I felt truly humbled by the interest in the work.

I guess in some ways, I am not surprised that things have come full circle. I was inspired to start the project when I attended the BZgA/WHO conference on "Youth Sex Education in a Multicultural Europe" in Cologne where I saw folks struggling to come up with creative ways to outreach to the Muslim communities living in Europe around reproductive and sexual health issues.

I decided to take the information back to the US and got to working designing a project that addresses the reproductive and sexual health needs of Muslim youth. A few years later, I find my self back in Europe with a back drop of an increasingly xenophobic environment (French ban on the burqa/veil in public spaces; increase of popularity of right-wing anti-immigrant party in the Netherlands and the ban on minarets in Switzerland to name a few) and find that young people from all over the world are interested in finding creative solutions to address the rise of the conservative West and the resultant increased isolation of the Muslim world from within and without.

The Muslim Youth Project aims to bridge some of these gaps by centering the sexual and gender rights of Muslim youth and I am thrilled to bring this work to Vienna and am looking forward to all the possibilities that young people are now making it happen here!

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the actual story of the anatomically correct dolls being used in Indonesia to teach about age appropriate reproductive and sexual health. I especially love the story because it addresses a much needed gap in stories coming out of the "Muslim world" regarding gender and sexuality that are uplifting, inspiring and hopeful.

My issue is with CNN and its labeling this video as "tiny tots in sex-ed use explicit dolls" and the warning that "this video includes graphic content-viewer discretion is advised." I am saddened to see the labeling of such a refreshing and honest perspective on sex education as a sexually explicit material and hope that in the future CNN can actually take a lesson from what the folks on the ground are saying about the subject matter (increased understanding of one's body, learning the difference between good touch and bad touch and increased self esteem to name a few.)

And kudos to the Indonesian Planned Parenthood Association and World Population Fund for addressing this important issue!