The government of El Salvador President Nayib Bukele confirmed that gender ideologies will no longer be allowed in the country’s public schools, deeming them “contrary to nature.” Education Minister Mauricio Pineda confirmed the decision, saying: “We have removed any use or trace of gender ideology from public schools.”
Bukele, who was recently re-elected, emphasized the importance of giving parents “a voice and a say” in the educational content of their children. In this sense, the education system will focus on teaching “useful” and “traditional” content such as morals, civics and new subjects such as finance, to the exclusion of gender ideology. The president recently spoke at CPAC, the largest convention for conservative ideologies in the United States.
CONFIRMED: We have removed any use or trace of gender ideology from public schools.
— José Mauricio Pineda (@JMauricioPineda) February 27, 2024
In previous statements Bukele had pointed out that “they want to teach children things that contradict nature.” and advocated the “eradication” of these ideas in schools and proposed the return of “God in schools.”
Despite the support of the Salvadoran President The measure drew criticism from the opposition. The leader of the citizens’ group for the decriminalization of abortion, Morena Herrera, pointed out that removing the term “gender” from the public education system does not address existing inequalities.
“Even if they remove it from the curriculum (of the program), the official documents do not eliminate the existing inequalities in society,” Herrera said.
The human rights defender emphasized that inequalities between women and men continue to exist in various areas of social life, including economics and violence. In addition, he noted that the measure does not take into account the serious specific educational problems facing El Salvador.
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