Religious groups 'spending billions to counter gender-equality education'

Related: Whose Hands on our Education (Overseas Development Institute)

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Source: The Guardian

Religious groups ‘spending billions to counter gender-equality education’

Report reveals how US Christians, Catholic schools and Islamists fight sex education, LGBTQ+ and equal rights

Sarah Johnson
Wed 11 Sep 2024 05.00 BST
Last modified on Wed 11 Sep 2024 05.01 BST

Extreme religious groups and political parties are targeting schools around the world as part of a coordinated and well-funded attack on gender equality, according to a new report.

Well-known conservative organisations aim to restrict girls’ access to education, change what is on the curriculum, and influence educational laws and policies, according to Whose Hands on our Education, a report by the Overseas Development Institute.

Tactics include removing sex education from schools, banning girls from learning, reinforcing patriarchal gender stereotypes in textbooks and rejecting gender-inclusive language in schools.

Ayesha Khan, senior research fellow at the ODI and one of the authors of the report, said: “Education is a key enabler for gender equality and has the power to shape lives.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/sep/11/religious-groups-christians-islamists-catholic-billions-counter-gender-equality-sex-education-lgbtq-equal-rights

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The report names a wide spectrum of independent actors, including US Christian organizations, Islamist militants, conservative political parties and Russian oligarchs.