Arab Educational Feminist Forum

The Arab Campaign for Education for All-ACEA and its partners and members in the Arab region concluded on Sunday, December 20, 2020 the activities of the Arab Educational Feminist Forum, which was held under the title " Arab Feminist Movements and Their Role in The Educational Movement: Betting on Equality and Equal Opportunity " in the presence of a prominent international, regional and high-level. Hundreds of Arab feminist activists, Arab national educational coalitions and Arab women's institutions participated. In addition to dozens of experts, academics and researchers in the field of education and women's rights throughout the Arab region, the presence and participation of this large number of parties and experiences is a strong indication of the importance of the role of women and feminist movements in efforts to shape the future of education in the Arab region.

The activities of the forum began on Friday, December 18 and lasted for three consecutive days. The Arab Campaign for Education for All, through this forum, sought to achieve the main goal of the forum: to unify feminist movement’s efforts in the Arab region to come up with a working mechanism to enhance the role of feminist movements in the educational movement and promote the position of women in education. in addition to other goals represented in Identify aspects of achievement and failure in the work of feminist movements on the education sector; Identify the economic, social and health impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the lives of women in general, and women and girls’ education in particular;  Introduce successful initiatives and expertise in the field of women and education at the local, national and regional levels;  Foresee the future role of feminist movements and their work in the field of education and  Unify the efforts of feminist movements in the Arab region and developing a work strategy that guarantees the sustainability of women's education and empowerment, especially in times of crisis.

 During the forum, distinguished initiatives and experiences in the field of women and education were presented at the local, national and regional levels. During this period, an attempt was also made to anticipate the future role of feminist movements and their work in the field of education, in addition to developing the features of a work strategy that would ensure the sustainability of education and empowerment of women, especially in times of crises and emergencies.

The forum’s activities began with an opening session in which a large number of prominent and high-level international and Arab personalities participate, began with a speech by Dr. Refat Sabah, President of the Global Campaign for Education and Secretary General of the Arab Campaign for Education for All. Dr. Refat said that this forum, with this momentum and great attendance, indicates the beginning of a new era and birth for the role of the feminist movements in drawing the future of education in the Arab region. Feminist movements in shaping the future of education in the Arab region.

Also speaking at the opening session were: Ms. Stefania Giannini, Assistant Director-General for Education-UNESCO, Dr. Combo Poli Barrio, who is The Special Rapporteur on the right to education- UN Human Rights Council, Dr. Amal Hamad, Minister of Palestinian Women's Affairs, Ms. Haldis Holst, Deputy Secretary-General of EI, in addition to Dr. Salma Al-Nims, Secretary General of the Jordanian National Committee for Women Affairs, Dr. Maya Morsi, President of the National Council for Women - Egypt, Mrs. Lama Al-Khatib is responsible in the Regional Program (Middle East and North Africa) for Open Society Foundations, and Dr. Hala Yamani, Coordinator of the Organizing Committee of the Forum, and Associate Professor at Beit University Meat and head of the Childhood Education Department at Bethlehem University.

During the days of the forum, a set of main themes and topics were presented in several sessions, which focused on: the historical role of feminist movements in education, the ability of feminist movements to influence the educational movement in the Arab world, including aspects of challenges in adopting the education agenda, Arab feminist movements and institutions International, and prospecting of feminist movements and the future of education.

On the other hand, the issue of the status of Women and the COVID-19 Pandemic: was raised, Women and the COVID-19 Pandemic:  The reality of women's life within the pandemic;  Women education in light of the pandemic; Continuous education; The role of women in shaping the future of education in light of COVID-19 pandemic;  Introduce successful initiatives and expertise on feminist movements participation in education in light of the pandemic in addition to developing a plan and distinct plans in developing New participation of feminist movements in education in light of the Corona pandemic

In addition to all of this, an extensive discussion was also presented on the challenges that feminist movements face in participating in the educational movement in the Arab world, as this topic included dialogue on social, cultural, political, economic and environmental challenges, and a review of distinguished initiatives and experiences in the field of feminist movements participation in the educational movement

 During the conference sessions, a variety of activities were used, including presentation of research papers in plenary and open sessions, dialogue discussions, group work, posters and publications, and documentaries.

 The participants presented a large number of recommendations and proposals, the most prominent of which were: obligating decision-makers to take practical steps to promote girls' and women's education by supporting legislation to limit underage marriage that prevents girls from completing education, and the need to target areas where girls ’education does not receive clear attention. Cooperate and contribute to supporting families to return girls, who have left school due to poverty or any harmful practices, and to formulate an Arab framework governing the empowerment of women, and to mobilize all efforts in favor of passing laws and legislations that enhance women's access to their full and undiminished rights in many areas. Maximizing interventions and coordinating efforts to ensure integration of efforts to include a change in curricula; It allows to overcome the stereotypical treatment that reflected itself on the pattern of the image, and to activate the role of the media through awareness campaigns on the rights of the girl by focusing on the marriage of minors and harmful practices, and to make free and compulsory basic education a priority, and in a way that establishes the expansion of discussion about free education to include university education, as it is a failure to continue closure In the department of compulsory education despite its importance, Without forgetting the importance of governments assuming their role in compulsory education and addressing the leakage that increased in the furnace of the Corona pandemic, according to what the follow-ups reflect, and we must not wait for the statistics that will be issued after months, and it is unfortunate that we do not see any initiatives to monitor the phenomenon early. And early childhood and adult education programs are accorded the same attention that school and university education is given, as early childhood and adult education are two sectors that are already absent, and the Corona pandemic has increased their absence. Calling on the private sector to shoulder its responsibilities towards supporting education programs and making use of social responsibility for that while strengthening partnerships within the framework of girls ’education. Supplement educational interventions with interventions that include aspects of mental health; Especially since the repercussions of the Corona pandemic and the repercussions of issues related to girls' education require evoking this aspect, and making a targeted effort to protect women by urging the competent authorities to pursue violence against women, and to provide guarantees to provide sustainable support that enhances stability for educational institutions in the International Relief Agency.

On the other hand, the participants stressed the importance of activating the role of civil society organizations to advance women's education, especially in light of the crises experienced by societies, and the need to fully adhere to the standards and controls necessary for the quality of women's education, and to give adequate attention to the education of women with disabilities to achieve the principle of equal opportunities in education, and link Educating women with the sustainable development goals, and striving seriously through research and scientific studies to reduce the phenomenon of school dropout among girls, and paying attention to remote education through its various means as an alternative to traditional education. As well as including the national education course in formal education curricula, and the need to pay attention to technical education for women to acquire skills that help women advance their role in society and then empower them at the economic and social level, the participants focused on the importance of political will and governmental and community support for the advancement of women. Emphasizing the commitment of governments to implement the compulsory education law to protect students from dropping out of school to a minimum after completing primary school.

It is worth noting that this forum is the first of its kind and falls within the context of the Arab Campaign for Education for All of its attempts to contribute to the promotion of education as a basic human right, in cooperation with Arab national educational coalitions and member civil society organizations, with the aim of unifying and mobilizing civil society efforts to ensure the achievement of Education 2030 Agenda goals based on the Incheon Declaration, national education goals and other important education issue Through public awareness activities, mobilization and participation in policies, advocacy and research, noting that the campaign works within the global development plan put forward by the United Nations by working to implement the fourth goal of the Sustainable Development Goals consisting of 17 sustainable goals, especially the pledge to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all, and to promote Lifelong learning opportunities for all.