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REITERATING THE OBVIOUS - EDUCATION IS A HUMAN SECURITY ISSUE The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa The Maputo Protocol declares education as a right, protection, and empowerment tool for girls and women in Africa. States are called upon to “commit themselves to modify the social and cultural pattern of conduct of women and men through public education, information, and communication strategies, with a view to achieving the elimination of harmful cultural practices and traditional practices and all other practices." Article 12 on the right to education and training is pivotal as it bestows upon State parties the duty to: (a) eliminate all forms of discrimination against women and guarantee egual opportunity and access in the sphere of education and training; (b) eliminate all stereotypes in textbooks, syllabuses, and the media that perpetuate such discrimination; (c) protect whomen, especially the girl-child, from all forms of abuse, including sexual harassment in schools and other educational institutions and provide for sanctions against the perpetrators of such practices; (d) provide access to counseling and rehabilitation services to women who suffer abuses and sexual harassment; (e) integrate gender sensitization and human rights education at all levels of education curricula, including teacher training." Education is significant in laying the foundation to achieve sustainable development for women globally.? The 2030 Sustainable Development Goals considers education as central in eradicating poverty, driving sustainable human development, and building peace.* Overall, goal no.4 aims to ensure “inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” However, target 4.5 presumes that by 2030, there will be “equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations.”** The closure of schools due to COVID-19 slowed progress towards these targets, making their realization by 2030 a distant goal. 30 The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (2005), Article 2(2). 31 Women’s Protocol, Article 12 (1- a&b). 32 Women’s Protocol, Article 19. ® United Nations, Sustainable Development Goal, Goal 4: Quality Education, 2030, https:// sdgs.un.org/goals/goal4. % UN Sustainable Development Goal 2030, Goal 4: Quality Education. + 307 +
