Indigenous Women and Education

Indigenous Women and Health

Abby Dupale

While free public education is purported to be available for everyone, the realities of the indigenous women and girls make it very difficult for them to enjoy this right. There is the issue of distance - students had to walk for hours to get to school. For those who have passable roads, they have to pay big amounts for habal-habal or local transportation. Other expenses incurred for meal allowances, and payment for boarding house rentals is another challenge. These challenges did not disappear, however, with the shift to online and module-based learning during the COVID-19 lockdown. In fact, the new challenges made it more difficult for the indigenous children. The families could not afford the requirements needed for online schooling such as laptop and smartphones, stable internet connection, and electricity. For the module-based learning, it puts extra work and pressure on mothers who are expected to assist their children. This role is expected for a significant number of indigenous mothers, and parents in general, despite the fact that they have not gone to school themselves.
 

The survey results have shown the inability of the educational system of the country to
seriously consider and integrate in its planning a more responsive program to the realities of indigenous families and communities.

'Indigenous Women and Education' is part of the Sectoral Monitoring on the Situation of Indigenous Women and Girls during the COVID-19 Pandemic by LILAK (Purple Action for Indigenous Women’s Rights) and the Commission on Human Rights Gender Equality and Women’s Rights Center, published on April 20, 2022.