Student organizations all over Europe want to take this opportunity to raise awareness
upon the dire worldwide situation of women’s rights today. For this reason, we have curated
a list of demands to better our education about feminism and gender equality, in order to
create an inclusive learning environment for all.
As international student organizations, we are calling for a European mobilization of young people
and students for 8 March. In this day and age women all over the globe are still facing numerous
adversities that should have been eradicated long ago. Sexism, inequality, and lack of
opportunities are the biggest issues women are being affected by in the 21st century. This is why
we want to shed light upon the adversities occurring all over the world, in Europe, and in our local
communities.
Right now, in Afghanistan generations of citizens, in particular, women and girls are paying the
price for years of war and conflict; this is causing a violation of their human rights. The lack of
access to education is criminal, now UNICEF estimates that 3.7 million children do not have
access to education, 60% of them being girls and young women. This dire discrimination is
affecting women and their right to an education. Schools should be sacred spaces, especially
during conflict, and we must not let anyone take that away from us. Since forever, women have
been on the front lines when it comes to worldwide crises.
Today, in Ukraine, women are still on the front line, victims of imperialism and Russian
expansionism. Their rights are being threatened because of war. We stand with women who are
directly victims of the liberal capitalist system and who are suffering the full force of the horrors of
war. Putin and the OTAN must stand down, peace between People!
Whether in Afghanistan or Ukraine, women’s rights are currently under attack. However, these
situations exist all over the world and tend to get worse in times of war. We express our solidarity
with women around the world who are victims of the violence of the patriarchal and imperialist
system, and call out the need for an international fight for women’s rights.
Once again, women have been on the front line throughout the health crisis that has lasted for over
two years. Women make up more than 75% of nurses in many countries, and if our hospitals and
health systems have held up during this crisis, despite the austerity policies of liberal governments,
it is because of the strength of these workers who sustain public services and society.
No woman can be free until all women are free, and the only way for this to happen is the abolition
of the patriarchal system that characterizes our society in all its aspects. We believe that this
change must necessarily pass through the school, place of growth and formation, through the
comparison with different experiences and is significant for the empathic development of the
individual.
On this day, 8 March, International Women’s Rights Day, we, student organizations, student unions
and secondary school students from Europe and all over the world, wish to recall loud and clear
the following demands, which are at the foundation of our fight for equality and progress:
– Sexism and all forms of discrimination must stop in our places of study. Whether it comes from
adults or between students, discrimination must be fought against and for a fair education; policies
must give priority to teaching respect, tolerance and gender equality.
– Women must be more included in school curricula. Yes, history also contains great women who
have done a lot for our society, for our rights and our social achievements, and our school curricula
should give them greater prominence.
– The sexist wage differences between the genders must stop. Today, for equal positions and
qualifications, women are paid 19% less than men based on many sexist prejudices and beliefs
embedded in our society. As young workers and trainees, we must demand an immediate end to
pay inequality and higher wages for all in order to fight against precariousness. In 24 countries,
women need the authorization of their husbands to access work, the fight for women\u2019s
independence is not over.
– Freedom to dress is not yet a given in schools in 2022. In many countries, it is still complicated in
the 21st century to have complete freedom to dress as you please. The conservative system that
governs us restricts our appearance and the way we dress. We reaffirm that ”our bodies, our
choices” and that it is still not up to men to decide whether to wear a skirt or trousers.
– Whether in schools or in society, access to menstrual products must be made free. These basic
needs and everyday needs come at a high financial cost. States should fund menstrual products
and make them available in schools.
– Sex education is necessary in modern school curriculum. It must cover the basics about
contraceptive methods, sexual orientation, gender expression and not only heterosexual but also
homosexual relationships. The foundation of this type of education should be consent and
emotional intelligence. As students grow older and advance through the school system, at least a
basic sex education is required for their schooling.
– The UN reports that their husbands or intimate partners in 2017 murdered 50,000 women. Worse
still, in 4 out of 5 regions of the world, the home is the most dangerous place for a woman. In
addition to fighting the patriarchal system that creates that violence, we need to put pressure on
states to adapt their legislation to these homicides. More than 43 countries have still no legislation
on marital rape, and is has to change now.
– We want an authentic right to abortion: often access to this service is not guaranteed, because it
is sometimes a private service or because the availability of doctors not conscientious objectors is
poor. This problem undermines the right to health and the care of so many women. We want to
remove the stigma that marks women who choose to terminate a pregnancy voluntarily, considered
as inferior or deviant to a concept of femininity, based on the common perception that abortion is
wrong and\/or morally and socially unacceptable.
Through this statement, we call on young people and students around the world to mobilize for
women’s rights on 8 March and throughout the year. To show our support across the world with the
mobilization, let us all wear a purple cloth headband on 8 March . In addition, in countries where
demonstrations and strike actions are taking place, we call on students to join and support these
mobilizations.
In order to amplify the mobilization and to show the governments our determination let us all share
images of our actions and our solidarity with the movement through wearing purple cloth.
The struggle for women’s rights is not a one-day struggle; it is an everyday systemic struggle.
Signatory union organisations:
\u25cf F\u00e9d\u00e9ration Syndicale
\u00c9tudiante (FSE) –
France :
fse.national@gmail.com
\u25cf Kosovar Youth Council
(KYC) – Kosova :
kyckosova@gmail.com
\u25cf \u010cesk\u00e1 st\u0159edo\u0161kolsk\u00e1
unie (\u010cSU) – Czech
republic :
media@stredoskolska
unie.cz
\u25cf Organising Bureau of
European School
Student Unions
(OBESSU) – Europe :
samira@obessu.org
\u25cf Comit\u00e9 des \u00c9l\u00e8ves
Francophones (CEF) –
Belgium :
info@lecef.org
\u25cf Rete degli Studenti
Medi (RSM) – Italy :
retedeglistudentimedi
@gmail.com
\u25cf Union des Conseils
d\u2019\u00c9tudiants
(USO-UCE-UCS) –
Suisse :
salvina.knobel@uso.ch
\u25cf Irish Second-Level
Students\u2019 Union
(ISSU) – Ireland :
international@issu.ie
\u25cf Mouvement National
Lyc\u00e9en (MNL) –
France :
contact@mnl-syndicat.
fr
\u25cf Confederaci\u00f3n Estatal
de Asociaciones de Estudiantes (CANAE) –
Spain :
info@canae.org
\u25cf Finlands Svenska
Skolungdomsf\u00f6rbund
(FSS) – Finland :
kansliet@skolungdom.
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