Curriculum and content

are decolonized and gender transformative. They ensure progressive and relevant technical, cognitive, and creative skills, social knowledge, and deals with rights, dynamics, social norms, and beliefs.

If not deliberately designed to be transformative, education can be one of the most conservative social mechanisms – capable of reinforcing gender stereotypes and engraining harmful knowledge structures and forms of understandings in an entire generation of citizens.

A curriculum that is not properly adjusted to promote equal gender rights may contain gender biases in learning material, representation, and teaching practices. This can cause an educational environment of discrimination and intolerance based on gender or sex that spills over into society at large. In its most dangerous form, such beliefs, mindsets, and practices can lead to gender-based violence.

On the other hand, education that creates awareness of gender norms, dynamics, practices, and empowers all learners to question, challenge, and transform harmful social norms has the potential to decrease violence against women and girls. Rather than being gender-blind, education systems should promote gender equity, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, and support learners’ awareness of injustice and rights violations.

It is critical to invest in gender audits of curricula, teaching and learning materials, and ensure inclusive review processes (in education planning, budgeting, and curriculum development).