Hungary’s state audit office has published a report on the risks that the country’s education system is “too feminine”, saying it could harm the development of boys and create demographic problems.
The report was published last month but had not come to public attention until a newspaper article was published on Thursday.
“The phenomenon called ‘pink education’ has many economic and social consequences,” said the report by the state body, considered close to the nationalist prime minister, Victor Orban.
As in many countries, the teaching profession in Hungary is dominated by women, who make up 82% of teachers in the country.
“If education promotes feminine traits” such as “emotional and social maturity” and “causes the overrepresentation of women in universities, (gender) equality will be significantly weakened,” the report concludes.
He warns that if boys, who he says are more prone to entrepreneurship and risk taking, are not allowed to develop unhindered, they risk “mental and behavioral problems”.
The report adds that the boyish traits of creativity and innovation are “necessary for the optimal development of the economy”.
The audit office says ‘pink education’ could cause ‘demographic problems’ as educated women would be unable to find spouses with similar education, ‘which could lead to lower fertility’.
In response, Hungarian opposition MP Endre Toth said on Facebook that talking about masculine and feminine qualities was “complete scientific nonsense”.
“It’s time to take off your glasses from the last century,” he added.
Orbán has promoted a “conservative revolution” since returning to power in 2010, encouraging nativism and denigrating immigrants. He also championed a controversial law banning LGBTQ content for minors.
In 2019, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights noted “a setback in women’s rights and gender equality in Hungary” following a visit.
While Hungary recently elected Katalin Novák as its first female president, it has only one female minister, putting it second to last in the EU in terms of female representation in government.
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