The Constitutional Court of Romania has annulled a law passed last June that banned discussion of any gender identity different to people’s biological sex in the country’s education system. Romania’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday annulled legislation adopted by parliament last June that effectively banned gender studies in the educational system. The law was initiated by the Popular Movement Party, PMP, the party of former president Traian Basescu, and prohibited the “spread … [of] theories or opinions” based on the notion that “gender is a concept different to biological sex”. The ban applied to all arms of the educational system, including schools, high schools and universities. The Constitutional Court declared the law unconstitutional in response to an action initiated by the current centre-right president, Klaus Iohannis, who argued that a blanket ban imposed “a stereotype/cliché regarding the results of research on some theories/opinions”. Iohannis also argued that the ban was a contravention of “individual freedom of consciousness” and affected “freedom of thought and opinion”. The law was condemned by several civil society organisations and academics, who concurred with Iohannis in deeming it an attack on freedom of thought and as a regressive move in Romanian society.
via balkan insight: Romanian Court Scraps Law Banning Gender Studies