Recently, the Minister of Education, Culture and Science announced that she will legislate a formal right to maternity leave for students in the mbo. The law will explicitly include maternity leave of up to 16 weeks as a reason for extended absences.
According to Annemieke de Jong of the Steunpunt Studerende Moeders, this is a victory for all studying mothers in the Netherlands: ‘After eleven years of lobbying and campaigning by the Steunpunt, studying mothers and pregnant students will finally get a formal right to maternity leave.’
The Steunpunt Studerende Moeders, together with the Public Interest Litigation Project (PILP), trial litigation fund Clara Wichmann, FNV Vrouw, the Dutch Women’s Council and Vereniging voor Vrouw en Recht, formed the so-called “coalition Studerende Moeders.” They held discussions with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science since 2015 under the guidance of PILP about the problems experienced by student mothers. In it, the coalition reminded the minister of her responsibility to protect the human rights of student mothers and pregnant students.
According to Merel Hendrickx of PILP, this is an important decision for the protection of those human rights: ‘Without a formal right to maternity leave for student mothers, they are hindered in their access to education and in their ability to obtain a degree. This violates these mothers’ right to education. Moreover, it constitutes gender discrimination because only women can be disadvantaged by it.’
That the educational institution violates the prohibition of discrimination if the institution has not included arrangements for pregnant and student mothers is also evidenced by recent research by Anja Eleveld et al. of the Free University into regulations and provisions for pregnant students and students caring for children in secondary and higher education.
The Student Mothers Coalition welcomes these developments but also believes that more change is needed to protect the human rights of student mothers and pregnant students. To begin with, also a formal maternity leave for college and university. There is also a great responsibility on educational institutions to provide flexible study and internship programs and pumping rooms, for example.
Annemieke de Jong says: “We are not there yet. Having a child and caring for it should not interfere with educational opportunities. It would be a shame if these women had to stop their education and could not aspire to economic independence. It should not make any difference whether you study at an intermediate, higher or university level. The Steunpunt still receives too many reports from women in higher education. That is why we will continue.”
So the Coalition of Studying Mothers will keep an eye on developments, but celebrates this important step.
