Recently, we reflected on the difficult, if not impossible, situation faced by Afghan girls, who are denied education simply because of their gender. Yet we are also proud to share stories where, despite adversity, defenders and communities have managed to continue their educational efforts and advocacy.
According to the UN Secretary-General’s annual report on Children and Armed Conflict, in 2023 alone 32,990 grave violations against 22,557 children were verified, including direct assaults on schools, teachers, and students, a clear reminder of the urgency to act.Venezuela: Indigenous Knowledge at Risk
The Wiwa Indigenous People of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, near the Venezuelan border, face constant threats from organized crime and armed groups. In February 2024, violence displaced more than 300 Wiwa individuals and confined many families.
With support from FIDH and ProtectDefenders.eu, the Wiwa organization OWYBT provided displaced communities with culturally relevant resources: shelter, women-led economic activities, mental health strategies, and adapted spaces for education rooted in their traditions.
This support allowed the Wiwa people to continue defending their ancestral territory and transmitting their knowledge, ensuring that education remained alive even in displacement.
In Nicaragua, students have long been at the forefront of defending democracy and academic freedom. The Coordinadora Universitaria por la Democracia y la Justicia (CUDJ) was born during the 2018 protests. Among its leaders, a young activist and medical student who provided first aid to the injured.
Forced into exile, she and her peers continue their activism with the support of PBI and other partners. Through training and advocacy, CUDJ has taken its cause to international spaces such as the UN Human Rights Council and contributed to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on Nicaragua.
Their work shows that even in exile, education and training remain powerful tools of resistance and hope.
The International Day to Protect Education from Attack reminds us that protecting education is not only about safeguarding classrooms. It is also about ensuring that human rights defenders, youth, and indigenous communities can continue learning, teaching, and transmitting knowledge under the most difficult conditions.
From Afghan girls denied schooling, to displaced Wiwa communities, to Nicaraguan students in exile, these stories show that education in all its forms is both a right and a form of resistance.
As part of ProtectDefenders.eu, we reaffirm our commitment to defend those who defend education, and to ensure that learning, wherever it happens, remains a protected and transformative force for human dignity.
