"All pupils, including immigrant girls, have the right to swimming lessons and to take part in physical and sexual education classes," Björklund and Sabuni argue in an opinion article in Dagens Nyheter on Sunday.

Liberal party leader and education minister, Jan Björklund, and integration minister, Nyamko Sabuni, write that the right to exemptions from these classes will be removed in a new legislative proposal to be circulated for consideration during the summer.

This situation can result in girls being denied the right to participate in physical and sexual education classes, something the ministers hope the new law will put a stop to.

Björklund and Sabuni argue that the figures indicate that the problem with "honour culture oppression" could be greater than previously apparent.

"Taken to its extreme the oppression is a direct threat to the child's life, but even if it does not go to such drastic lengths it almost always violates the child's fundamental rights."

http://www.thelocal.se/19778/20090531/

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hree generations of the most powerful women in sport and politics sat along a table in the Eisenhower Building of the White House complex Tuesday to celebrate the 37th anniversary of Title IX, the federal law that outlaws sex discrimination at schools receiving federal funds.

Women's tennis legend and Women's Sports Foundation founder Billie Jean King, 65, traded knowing smiles with a giddy Valerie Jarrett, president Barack Obama's senior advisor and the leader of a panel that discussed the challenges of furthering the letter and spirit of the law.

 This celebration came against the backdrop of a study released Tuesday showing 12,000 more athletic scholarships available for females than males in sports played by both men and women. The College Sports Council, a watchdog group that charts the impact of Title IX on men's sports, says the NCAA is not making decisions based on interest when it comes to women's sports but is looking for sports with large rosters "to satisfy the gender quota," said chairman Eric Pearson.

Duncan also announced $2.4 million in grants for 13 organizations to support projects that will help high school girls gain higher proficiency in math and science, according to a White House press release.

"These grants go hand-in-glove with our efforts to improve equity and access for women and girls in the classroom and on the playing field," Duncan said. "While much has been accomplished since Title IX was enacted, we must continue to push for further progress. The Obama administration strives to remove the obstacle of gender discrimination as a way to increase access to college and careers for all students."

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/2009-06-23-title-ix-study_N.htm

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Gender equality work requires us to act here and now but also entails systematic and long-term work on attitudes. This Action Plan deals with the most important measures the Ministry wishes to implement to promote gender equality in kindergartens and primary and secondary education and training.

The overall objective for the Action Plan is that kindergartens and basic education shall contribute to an equal society where everybody has the opportunity to use their abilities and interests irrespective of gender, and that equality and equity between the sexes must form the foundation for all learning and pedagogical activities in kindergartens and basic education. To achieve this, three main objectives have been given priority:  

1. The learning environment in kindergarten and basic education shall promote equality between boys and girls. 
2. A better gender balance when it comes to choice of education and career – with special focus on vocational education and training and the recruitment of girls to sciences.  
3. A better gender balance among members of staff in kindergartens and basic education.

http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/kd/Documents/Reports-and-actionplans/Actionplans/2008/action-plan-for-gender-equality.html?id=508110

http://www.regjeringen.no/upload/KD/Vedlegg/Barnehager/likestilling/Gender_Equality.pdf

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“We have seen time and time again that sex segregated programs are inherently unequal for both girls and boys and in some instances, can shut students out of the best classes in the school simply because of their sex," said Emily Martin, Deputy Director of the ACLU Women's Rights Project. “One of the strengths of public schools is the opportunity they provide for students to learn from those different from themselves. Sex segregation leaves students less prepared for success in a coeducational world. In fact, there is no consistent evidence that segregating students by sex improves learning for either boys or girls.”

The ACLU charges that mandatory sex segregation in public schools violates Title IX of the Education Amendments, the Equal Education Opportunities Act and the U.S. Constitution.

"Mandatory sex segregation in public schools is not only clearly against the law, it's also an empty promise for failing schools," said Katie Schwartzmann, Legal Director of the ACLU of Louisiana. "Inevitably, these experimental programs deny equal opportunity to girls and boys and distract much needed time and money from efforts that we know work like smaller classes, highly trained teachers, sufficient funding and involved parents."

http://www.aclu.org/womensrights/edu/40956prs20090908.htm

l http://www.aclu.org/pdfs/womensrights/janedoevvermilionparish_complaint.pdf

 

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Suspected Taliban militants bombed a primary school on the outskirts of Peshawar on Tuesday, underscoring the Islamist threat in northwest Pakistan despite a series of military offensives.

Militants planted explosives to destroy the small school, which educated girls alongside boys and likely provoked the ire of Islamists who oppose the education of women and frequently target girls' schools.

"The school building, which consisted of three rooms was destroyed in the blast on Tuesday," local police official Hamzullah Khan told AFP.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hF4mGNJ0BpgnduXdySz11IBLbszw

http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Politics/22-Sep-2009/Militants-bomb-primary-school-in-Peshawar-officials

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Le 11 septembre dernier, les divers réseaux scolaires d’Anvers, y compris le secteur confessionnel catholique, ont décidé, après concertation entre eux, d’interdire le voile islamique dans leurs 300 établissements à la rentrée 2010.

Le Conseil supervisant les écoles publiques de langue néerlandaise financées par le ministère flamand de l’Education a adopté le même jour une position identique pour toute la région de Flandre, avec application progressive dès cette année à ses 700 établissements.

De même que le Conseil d’Etat, la plus haute instance administrative en Belgique, a jugé mardi irrecevable pour des raisons techniques la plainte d’une élève contre le nouveau règlement d’un des deux lycées prohibant le voile. Ces élèves ont été définitivement exclues par leurs établissements.

http://www.gaucherepublicaine.org/combat-feministe/belgique-1-000-ecoles-publiques-ou-privees-ont-decide-d%E2%80%99interdire-le-hidjab/677

 

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Islamist militants blew up a girls school in Pakistan's lawless Khyber tribal district Sunday, destroying the building and wounding four people in neighbouring homes, officials said.

Two explosions ripped through the 18-room government high school for girls at Kari Gar village and a boy who watched the premises is missing, possibly kidnapped by the militants, local administration officials said.

"The militants have blown up the school with two blasts and all rooms were demolished," said administration official Shafeer Ullah.

Islamist militants, who have carved out a strong presence in Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal belt on the Afghan border, have destroyed hundreds of schools, mostly for girls, in the northwest of the country in recent years.

Nearly 200 schools were destroyed in the Swat valley alone during a two-year Taliban uprising to enforce sharia law in a district once favoured by Western tourists for its ski slopes and bracing mountain air.

 http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iUI3_jsG1_VI7A_IE2QlqD27VUgQ

 

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