The Dominican Association of Teachers (ADP), the local public school association, went public on Friday, 31 May 2019 to back the Ministry of Education’s recently issued Ordinance 33-19 on gender equality. Christian and Catholic church groups have rejected the ordinance saying that it will open doors for the imposing of “gender ideology” in schools nationwide.
On the contrary, the president of the ADP, Xiomara Guante said her organization will be participating in the drafting of the gender equality policy. She said the changes in educational curriculum will make it possible for children to learn the value of gender equality in the classroom.
She said the gap between men and women is “notorious” in the country. “We cannot tolerate that women continue to be discriminated against in terms of jobs and worker pay, despite having achieved the closing of the gap in secondary and university education in favor of women,” said the president. Today more females are enrolled in high school and university education than males.
As evidence of the gender disparity, she mentioned that only three women are ministers of around 20 ministries in government and there is not a single woman on the Monetary Board that sets monetary policy in the country. Likewise, she highlighted that of 32 senators, only 3 are women. She pointed out that women average 18% less in pay than men.
“The ADP understands that gender equality is not only a fundamental human right but also it is needed to achieve a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world,” said the president of the public school association of teachers.
She urged Education Minister Antonio Peña Mirabal to convene discussions of gender equity policy with the participation of all sectors.
Gender equity means fairness of treatment for women and men, according to their respective needs. Meanwhile, UNICEF says gender equality means that women and men, and girls and boys, enjoy the same rights, resources, opportunities and protections.
Meanwhile, the director of Gender Education at the Ministry of Education, Marina Hilario gave details on Departmental Order 33-2019. “This is the starting point for the drafting of the Ministry’s gender policy, which must be drafted as part of a technical and participatory process,” she said. She explained the initial phase would last 60 days, starting with the drafting the policy.
She explained the objective is to overcome the inequality that exists between boys and girls that feeds violence. Another objective is to reduce the divide in the mastery of technology, science and mathematics among boys and girls, as revealed in different studies in recent years.
She explained the order complies with articles 39 and 63 of the Constitution and with the National Development Strategy (END).
Hilario said the Ministry of Education seeks to educate in values, respect, honesty, equity and recognition of the rights of children and adolescents. The intention is to improve the quality of education. The bottom line is that the new gender equality policy do justice to the outstanding debt to women in matters of equality and equity, ensuring that women are valued at the same level as men in terms of rights and opportunities.
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Diario Libre
3 June 2019