Invisibility of LGBTQI+ in the "Gender Equality" textbook

In January of this year, the State Committee for Family, Women, and Children's Affairs of Azerbaijan, in collaboration with the International Cooperation Society of Germany (GIZ) and Baku State University, presented a textbook called "Gender Equality". The six-chapter textbook was considered useful for higher education institutions and government agencies.

The opinions and suggestions of the United Nations Population Fund's Azerbaijan Representation, BDU, ADA University, DIA, ADPU, ADIU, and Azerbaijan University were taken into account when preparing the textbook.

The textbook provides information on the concept of gender equality, international conventions, and agreements regarding this issue. It also covers topics such as ensuring gender equality in science and education, healthcare, diplomacy, the labor market, sports, and other fields, as well as the impact of climate change on gender equality.

The 1.3 section of the first chapter also provides information about feminism.

However, despite the extensive coverage of gender equality in this book, there is no mention of the discrimination faced by trans identities and queer women. Feminist activist Gulnara Mehdiyeva wrote about this in her blog while analyzing the course.

She stated that the book only considers traditional cisgender identities when talking about gender issues. When it comes to gender, only conventional cisgender women and men are considered.

In the section of the course dedicated to feminism, the third wave of the feminist movement is described in just two sentences, and the queer feminist approach is ignored. Mehdiyeva commented on this by saying:

"It's no secret that the third wave of feminism is remembered for the emergence of intersectionality and the intersection of LGBTQ+ activism with feminism. Each of these areas is a turning point in feminism and an integral part of new age activism. It seems that the Committee has only used the word 'diversity' to cover up its phobia and deliberately avoided including the main topics of the third wave."

The textbook is available to read through this link.

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