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First lady Emine Erdoğan has signed a joint declaration urging the protection of children’s right to education in Gaza and other conflict zones, stressing that the world must not remain silent in the face of Israel’s escalating violations.
Erdoğan joined the initiative following her participation in the extraordinary joint summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League, held in Doha on Sept. 15. On the sidelines of the summit, she met with Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, the mother of Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and founder of the Education Above All Foundation.
The foundation later issued a declaration titled “A Grim Year for the Education of Children Living in Conflict Zones,” released on the International Day to Protect Education from Attack. The statement, signed by first ladies, world leaders and senior international officials, highlighted the worsening plight of children deprived of their education and called for urgent global action to end ongoing violations.
The declaration warned that 2024 marked the worst year on record for children’s right to education in conflict areas. It noted that children in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine, Myanmar, Colombia and beyond are being killed, starved, injured and stripped of basic human rights, especially education. It condemned what it called Israel’s “educationcide” in Gaza – the deliberate destruction of schools, libraries and universities as part of Tel Aviv’s attempt to erase the enclave’s intellectual, cultural and social life.
“Today we, too, join the movement to end this genocide and pledge to continue our work to provide educational opportunities and help children heal as they learn,” the declaration said.
The document, signed by Emine Erdoğan, Sheikha Moza, Mirela Becirovic of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Colombia’s Veronica Alcocer Garcia, Gambia’s Fatoumatta Bah-Barrow, Sierra Leone’s Fatima Maada Bio, Princess Dana Firas of Jordan, Malaysia’s Wan Azizah Ismail and former Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf, underscored a united stand to protect education and dignity in conflict zones.
On her NSosyal account, Erdoğan recalled earlier initiatives: “On Jan. 10, 2009, we gathered as first ladies in Istanbul for the ‘Women for Peace in Palestine Meeting’ and declared the ‘Istanbul Call for Gaza.’ It was the voice of a strong will that united in the language of peace against oppressors. In November 2023, we came together again in Istanbul for the ‘One Heart for Palestine’ summit. Today, under the leadership of my dear friend Sheikha Moza, we are once more raising our voices with the same faith.”
She emphasized that denying education to children means robbing the future: “Every child deprived of education is a piece of our future torn away. Our wish is for a world where no child is denied the right to life, and every child has access to pens, notebooks and classrooms. We wholeheartedly believe that children healed through education will build a more just future, and we invite all people of conscience to join this call.”
Throughout Israel’s genocidal attacks on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023 – which have killed more than 65,000 people, mostly thousands of women and children – Erdoğan has consistently called for urgent action, vowing to support every effort to alleviate the suffering of innocent Palestinians and defend their right to life and education.
