by Andreea Pora

The adoption by the Senate of an amendment to the National Education Law which prohibits in schools, universities, kindergartens and all spaces dedicated to education " activities to spread the theory or opinion of gender identity, understood as the theory or opinion that gender is a different concept biological sex and that the two are not always the same"Caused a scandal that will probably reach the Constitutional Court. The reaction of several university professors contacted by Free Europe is under pressure, ranging from accusations of "thinking police" to "a medieval intrusion into the work of universities." Several universities have publicly protested the change and urged President Iohannis not to promulgate it. Last but not least, banning discussions on gender identity could lead to the suspension of university courses, aberrant situations and the vulnerability of already vulnerable social groups.

The amendment was proposed by the PMP senator, Vasile Cristian Lungu , a graduate of the Theological Seminary in Zalău and then a graduate in Special Psychology in the USA, at Loyola University. He was voted by 81 senators from PSD, ProRomania and PMP, received 22 votes against, the majority from USR and UDMR and 27 abstentions from PNL.

The amendment to the Education Law is aberrant and the initiators probably did not think about the consequences on university autonomy, says for Free Europe Mircea Miclea: “ It is the first time after the Middle Ages when a legislature says what can be taught and what cannot be taught In the University, this was what the Catholic Church did in the Middle Ages . Since then, universities have enjoyed academic freedom, which means that any theory can be approached, discussed, analyzed, rejected, approved, etc. The essence of the university is the freedom of thought and research, or this is an intrusion into the activity of universities, I do not think they have thought about the consequences.The immediate consequences of this article are that from next fall you are not allowed to hold any course on gender studies, no master's degree, program, nothing, it is forbidden, must be removed from the curriculum . It would not be the first time they do not think about the consequences ".

Mihaela Miroiu , a teacher at the National School of Political Science (SNSPA), a well-known theoretician and feminist activist, says for free Europe that they are trying to impose an ultra-conservative agenda, and the amendment shows a "gross inculturation".

"The wording of the amendment shows a fat, outspoken inculturation. It is an elementary problem for any man that biological sex is one and gender, at the level of cultural, social interpretation of the roles that men and women should play, is completely different. These genders, female and male, are the result of society's conception of the roles that the two sexes should play, and biological sex is a different story. When you tell me in an amendment to the Education Law that the identity between biological sex and gender should not be questioned, it means that you did not understand anything at all ”. Read more via Radio Europa Libera Romania

Senator Vlad Alexandrescu, former Culture Minister:
 
In a time when rapists burn their victims after raping them, when domestic violence reaches paroxystic levels, when sexual exploitation and child trafficking for sexual exploitation has come to the attention of all international forums, Senate, room Parliament's decision-making decision, adopted today, with the PSD and PMP vote, with the PSD and PMP abstention and against the USR vote, a law initiated by two PMP parliamentarians, introduced on the agenda half an hour before the meeting of the peln, which prohibits in schools , in Universities and in all spaces intended for education and vocational training, any reference to gender identity.

I spoke determinedly against the law, showing all the below, I demanded that the commission be sent back to the committee, for the CNCD, the People's Lawyer, of the foreign policy committee. In vain!

For those who don't know, the kind, understood as a cultural or social construct, is the basic concept on which gender equality is founded, all international conventions condemning violence against women, discrimination of any kind based on orientation or sexual identity.

The concept of gender allows for an education attentive to differences, to the sensitivities of each child, to its possibility to find themselves in an inclusive society, in which any specificity is recognized as a trait and not as a disability.

What will this law bring new? It will be banned in all schools and spaces intended for education any reference to the concept of gender meaning differently than natural sex. Girls will be urged to play with dolls, knit and accept boys insistence. Boys will only play with cars, school yard football and make advances to girls. On the edge, it's in the nature of ′′ weak sex ′′ to let themselves be dominated by ′′ cool sex ", and rape will only be seen as an exaggeration of ′′ natural ′′ provisions.

They will be banned, against university autonomy, courses on gender identity and equal opportunities. The university fields offering gender studies, specialized masters will be disbanded. Persons ready to occupy expert positions in equal opportunities will become suspicious and will need to retrain.

The scientific literature that defines and uses the term gender will be banned. Scientific research on gender by major universities abroad will be confiscated. Access to knowledge of students and students will be blocked.

Romania aligns with positions promoted by Viktor Orban's Hungary and Poland, becoming a regime in which the police of thinking was introduced. This is how we counter the obligations assumed by Romania through the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Istanbul Convention on the Prevention and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence.

We seriously violate the anti-discrimination legislation (including the criteria of sexual orientation, regarding LGBT persons) and the legislation of gender equality, both of which are the legal obligations of Romania to join the European Union.

It is also good to know that Romania has the implementation of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe 4 recent judgments through which the European Court of Human Rights condemned Romania for not protecting its women and children against rape (M.G.C. c. ROM (2016). ), I.C. c. ROM (2016), E. B c. ROM (2019), E. B c. ROM (2019)).

How much will we have to pay as citizens and our women and children for running away from responsibility and the carelessness of the decidents who make them complicit with the aggressors?