Two weeks ago the Women’s Research Centre was asked by Concern Worldwide to take part in one of their One World Festival quick fire debates. The motion we were given was “Educating men is the key to true gender equality“. Tina Barton, our Education & Engagement Director & Co-Founder of the Doc Media Centre, argued for the motion while our Director Sarah Reilly had to provide the opposition to it. While is undoubtedly vital that men are educated on the rights of women and on their human experience, such as period poverty and menstrual hygeine, the issue of gender equality needs to have a much wider focus. Legislation and its enforcement is crucial, as well as the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. The key issue is the empowerment of women and the eradication of misogyny from society, which needs to not just focus on men but also the internalised misogyny that many women unconsciously display towards others and themselves. We need to normalise the conversation on gender equality to benefit everyone.
The debate can be viewed here:
We would like to thank Emma Hassard, Public Engagement Officer for Concern Worldwide, for inviting us to take part in the debate series. Concern Worldwide do vital work to tackle and alleviate extreme poverty around the world, including rapid emergency response as well as providing programmes in health and nutrition, livelihoods and education. In 2021, Concern reached approximately 39 million people in 24 of the world’s poorest countries.
We also recommend checking out the Parallel Lives Network, which is a network of active NGOs, charities, community groups, individuals and educational based organisations located across Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and South-East Asia.
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