Section 3 - Educating and Partnering for CEDAW

With these sharing activities, UPCWS wanted to encourage other teachers, spread
the framework, tools and strategies as well as improve integration work done by
soliciting feedback from others. Participants in the feedback sessions expressed
a need and demand for seminars and follow-up training on gender mainstreaming
in academic programs and CEDAW.
A poster exhibit as well as a publication, “Teaching CEDAW: Integrating a Human
Rights Framework and the Principles of CEDAW in the College Curriculum” were
also put together. For the entire semester, posters and materials, which provided
an overview of the CEDAW agreement, its significance for education as well as
the ABC’s of integrating CEDAW, were displayed and handed out. These outputs
further promoted gender-fair education and CEDAW.
Challenges, lessons and insights
This initiative generated a wealth of insight and reflections for advancing genderfair
education in the country. UPCWS acknowledges that “there are still challenges
that need to be addressed to ensure full appreciation and understanding of the
basic principles of CEDAW.
While there was consensus on the significance of a gender-fair education, those
who participated in the project pointed out some difficulties in applying approaches
and strategies they’ve learned. For one, these required more time and effort on
the part of teachers. There are also some subjects that are considered “genderneutral”
such as math and science, and appear to be more difficult to integrate.
However, it’s been said that even in these so-called neutral subjects, there are
many that can and ought to be reviewed and revised.
At the same time, there’s still that challenge of deconstructing gender stereotypes.
It was observed that while many saw the value of non-discrimination and
substantive equality, most students continue to hold on to their views regarding
women’s roles. In the pre- and post-tests, students who attended integrated
classes did not exhibit significant changes in attitude and behavior. Statements
such as “Women should be cherished and safeguarded by men,” and “Many
women have quality of purity that few men possess” are still upheld by students.
UPCWS also observed that students are also unable to nuance when it comes
to affirmative action. This highlights the need to deepen and sharpen learning
encounters regarding women’s human rights and gender-fair principles.
There are also several institutional hurdles confronting practitioners. State
universities and colleges, with the exception of UP for instance, do not have a
free hand in revising their syllabi. The Commission on Higher Education (CHED)
has specific policies on curriculum and curricular changes. At the same time,
school administrators are also not as informed and this may pose some problems
for teachers who take the initiative to revise their lesson plans and improve their
course curricula.
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