The new federal government of Germany, which has been in office since the end of 2021, is fully committed to equal participation of all people in social, political and economic life – regardless of gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, skin colour, disability or other traits. In this sense, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) will pursue a feminist development policy. Svenja Schulze, German Development Minister, recently remarked that “We are living in times of multiple crises that are making existing gender inequalities particularly evident and the reasons for this are discriminatory social structures, norms, and roles, which must be overcome if we want to achieve gender equality and sustainable democracies.” The international trend and priority of supporting girls and women has also been taken up by the German Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt), which is putting a strong focus on what is termed as “feminist foreign policy,” as are other key donors such as the European Union with their Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025.
In accordance with its statutes, the German Adult Education Association (DVV) pursues the fulfilment of its tasks according to the principles of equality in regard to gender and diversity. In the context of its projects, DVV International attaches great importance to supporting disadvantaged groups, which traditionally also include women and girls.
In our third newsletter in 2022, we would like to present our commitment in this regard through three selected examples. These include advocating for women and girls in Afghanistan, where literacy rates are among the lowest in the world, and where dramatic political challenges took place in 2021. Despite all the challenges and limitations for women’s education, our key partner, the Afghan National Association for Adult Education (ANAFAE), managed to keep its 15 learning centres open. They provide various learning opportunities for girls and women. Our second example is a story about a 50-year-old woman from Mali who has been participating in REFLECT literacy circles that eventually qualified her to take part in other courses in a community learning centre, all of which is now providing her with an improved livelihood. Last but not least, we deliver information about our gender toolkit. It was developed in the North Africa region and has now been adjusted to accord with needs in Latin America. The toolkit is ready to be adapted and used by colleagues and partners in other regions around the globe.
DVV International has its own gender strategy, which we will be revising in more detail in the near future in order to further develop target group-specific measures to advocate for girls and women. We very much welcome the increased political attention this subject generates and would like to continue to espouse it.
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