EU Parliament approves Rodrigues report on Gender Equality in schools

The European Parliament voted for the Rodrigues’ report on Gender Equality in Public Education last Wednesday, 9 September. The resolution was approved by 408 votes to 236, with 40 abstentions after a presentation by its rapporteur, socialist Liliana Rodrigues, and a short debate by the members of the Women’s rights commission.

The purpose of the report is to prevent gender violence and discrimination through education and by stopping stereotypes been taught and maintained in public education.

Portuguese MEP Liliana Rodrigues.

“My report aims to […] create a school culture of gender equality”, said Ms. Rodrigues and encourages the institutions to oversee curricula and educational materials to prevent discrimination.

The report also stresses the need to encourage women to take more science, management, and technology studies as they are underrepresented in those areas, although they represent 60% of higher education graduates. Women are still less paid than men.

SOME THINK GENDER IDEOLOGY IS PROMOTED

On the other side, some recommendations of the report promote the implementation of gender ideology, such as number 35: “inclusion of objective information on LGBTI issues in school curricula”, which have raised several online petitions.

The resolution is not legally-binding for any of the institutions of the European Union or any Member State: it is a recommendation that the European Parliament can encourage as the representative body of European citizens.

Slovakian MEP Branislav Škripek.

It is however, perceived by some MEPs, like the conservative for Slovakia, Branislav Škripek, as an invasion of the EP of some competences that depend on national governments: “I insist that we respect the sovereignty of Member States”.

The also conservative German MEP, Arne Gericke, said: “Hands off, Europe, when we talk about the education of our children. Especially when it is about sexual education!”

EVANGELICALS: YES TO FIGHT INJUSTICES AGAINST WOMEN, NO TO GENDER IDEOLOGY

Last week, the European Evangelical Alliance (EEA) commented on the Rodrigues report expressing their support to any measure that “denounces injustices endured especially by girls and women (e.g. diminishing them or their nature, violence, etc.)”

Nonetheless, “our biblical Christian worldview is irreconcileable with many of the affirmations of Gender Ideology”, EEA repsentative Christel Lamère said. "Chistians, we believe, should redeem the battle against gender-based injustice out of a biblical view of who humans are (sinful, yet equally created after God's likeness as male and female) by engaging the debate, through word and deed.”