What's Going on in Human Rights: April 2023

During exam season when I imagine everyone is feeling slightly disenchanted with educational institutions, I thought it would be beneficial to remember the privilege we have in being able to access an education. I will discuss female education internationally to highlight the issues facing girls in school globally.

This month we have seen the problems within Iran regarding women’s rights continue to develop. During recent months there have been reports of many Iranian schoolgirls being admitted to hospital, after being poisoned. Earlier this year, hundreds of cases of respiratory issues have been reported amongst schoolgirls. This has been a particular issue in the city of Qom, south of Tehran, with some of these girls needing hospital treatment.

These attacks are believed to be a deliberate attempt to force the closure of girls’ schools. Activists have compared the attackers to the Taliban in Afghanistan and Boko Haram in the Sahel, both groups who oppose girl’s education.

Issues with female access to education are not isolated to Iran. In Sierra Leone, the Human Rights Watch and Purposeful said in a report that the government should be prioritizing the experience of girls within its educational reforms. As it stands many girls who are pregnant, living in poverty, or in rural areas are at risk of being excluded from education. Until 2020, the government had banned pregnant girls from schools. This was extremely problematic because Sierra Leone has one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancies in the world, and rates are highest among girls living in poverty.

However, in positive news, in April, Sierra Leone’s parliament enacted the Basic and Senior Secondary Education Act. This takes on board some parts of Sierra Leone’s ground-breaking 2021 National Policy on Radical Inclusion in Schools. The policy explicitly acknowledged that pregnant girls, and other marginalised young women are systematically excluded from school.

I think it is important to stress that even though we are of course grateful to be able to access education at university, it important to not be dismissive of our own experience of stress during the assessment season. Make sure to take breaks and look after yourself when experiencing academic burnout. Amnesty society wishes everyone good luck! We look forward to seeing everyone at some socials after all the hard work is done.

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By Charlie O'Keeffe