Main content

Should feminism be in the A-level Politics syllabus?

A row has been rumbling over the composition of the politics A-level syllabus after government proposals to remove feminism from the course.

A consultation by the Department for Education prompted 50,000 people to sign an online petition demanding that women and feminism be put firmly at the centre of the course - and even the Girl Guides got involved.

Labour MP Rupa Huq, who backs the inclusion of feminism in the syllabus, told the Daily Politics: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want a gender-blind curriculum.

"This is not some tangential airy-fairy thing鈥 women are 50% and we can鈥檛 just delete them from the syllabus.鈥

But Times columnist and guest of the day Melanie Phillips dismissed it as 鈥渋deological pressure group politics鈥, saying feminism was 鈥渘ot in the same category鈥 as socialism, conservatism or liberalism.

"When I hear the words 'gender-blind curriculum' I really want to reach for the sick bag,鈥 she added.

Release date:

Duration:

5 minutes

This clip is from