Ei-iE

The Education International Executive Board joined the global mobilisation around the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. The Education International leadership drew attention to various forms of gender-based violence, its causes and drivers, as well as the work and role of the education union movement in putting an end to this most pervasive violation of human rights.

“Around the world, nearly 736 million women have experienced sexual or physical violence. Women and girls from marginalised communities, those who face displacement because of war and crisis, people with disabilities, and members of the LGBTI+ community are the most vulnerable. We have a collective responsibility to act. As teachers, education workers, and as unionists, this is a core priority”, stated Mugwena Maluleke, Education International President.

President Maluleke and Ann Mari Milo Lorentzen, Chair of the EI Status of Women Committee which brings together all women of the EI Executive Board, issued a joint statement to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

Praising the work of education unions to end gender-based violence, Lorentzen stressed the essential role of education in this global effort, highlighting the importance of free inclusive quality public education in challenging harmful stereotypes, attitudes, norms, and practices that fuel gender-based violence.

“This is why we call on all governments to Go Public! and Fund Education. Ratify and implement Convention 190 and Recommendation 206 of the International Labour Organization. And we need to continue to push for the implementation of the United Nations Recommendations for a strong and resilient teaching profession everywhere”, Lorentzen concluded.

Standing up to the anti-rights movement in education and beyond

Executive Board members Johanna Jaara Åstrand, Shelley Morse, Evelyn DeJesus, and Nadine A. Molloy came together to draw attention to the anti-rights movement and its discourse filled with hate speech, misogyny, and discrimination that incites and normalizes violence. As DeJesus notes, “education is a battleground in this fight for our values and for our rights”, with schools and educators being targeted with book bans and harassment campaigns.

“As teachers and as unionists, we will not allow education to be taken hostage by far-right forces. At our 10th World Congress, we resolved to stand strong against censorship, against any form of discrimination, extremism, and violence. As unions, we will defend the professional autonomy of teachers and the right of every student to quality inclusive education”, concluded Johanna Jaara Åstrand, EI Vice-President for Europe.