30/04/2025 | Writer: Kaos GL
David Edwards, General Secretary of Education International, emphasized that projects related to gender equality have been canceled and drew attention to the pressures on Eğitim-Sen. Minister Tekin shifted the focus to LGBTI+ individuals, making them the target.
Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin responded to Education International's (EI) criticisms of Turkey's education system, shifting the focus to LGBTI+ individuals and targeting them.
In his letter, EI General Secretary David Edwards stated that Turkey’s education system has moved away from democratic norms and brought attention to the cancellation of a Gender Equality course that Eğitim-Sen was scheduled to hold in schools in March, as well as the pressures faced by union members. Edwards highlighted the cancellation of gender equality projects and expressed the following in his letter:
"As an organization advocating for gender equality, workers' rights, and union rights, we stand in solidarity with teachers and union leaders who are subjected to pressures and house arrests. We have serious concerns about the conscious effort to eliminate gender equality initiatives from the curriculum, including the cancellation of projects promoting gender equality education. These initiatives target teachers who promote anti-discrimination and gender equality principles, and there is a risk that the education system could become a systematic tool of pressure against women and LGBTQI+ individuals. Education should be a tool of empowerment, not a tool of systematic repression. We urge Turkish authorities to engage in negotiations with Eğitim-Sen and respect their union rights. All unfounded charges against Eğitim-Sen leaders should be dropped."
Minister Tekin: "We are against the LGBT imposition"
Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin claimed that Eğitim-Sen was attempting to organize activities that go against the curriculum and said, “We are against the imposition of LGBT under the guise of gender equality,” targeting LGBTI+ individuals:“It is clear that such actions would lead to disruption of public order and deprive students of their right to education. The claim that the union’s views on gender issues are being interfered with and that this constitutes a violation of freedom of expression does not reflect the truth. In our country, no union or unionist has been subjected to judicial or administrative action solely for engaging in union activities. If any such action has been taken, it is certainly not due to union-related activities. The arbitrary demand to teach non-curricular content that is not based on scientific foundations is not recognized as a union right in any country.”
Tags: human rights, education
