Hungary warns education becoming ‘too feminine’

State body report outlines concerns that boys could develop ‘mental and behavioural problems’

Hungary warns education becoming ‘too feminine’ (Getty)

Officials in Hungary have published their concerns that the country’s education system is becoming “too feminine”, in a report released this summer.

Issued by the state audit office, the report outlines fears that the phenomenon of “pink education” could create demographic problems and be harmful to the development of boys.

The document, which was published last month, labels “emotional and social maturity” as “feminine traits” and states that if education “favours” these traits then it will result in “the overrepresentation of women in universities”.

Hungary’s teachers are 82 per cent women, and over the past decade, more women have enrolled in univerisity than men, the report found. Meanwhile, male students are dropping out of higher education at a higher rate than their female counterparts.

The report then warns that boys are thus at risk of “mental and behavioural problems” if they are not given the space to develop in more masculine spaces, aligning qualities such as creativity and innovation with boys rather than girls.

Officials also stated that the rise in pink education could lead to a “decline in fertility” as women will not be able to find educated men to match their qualifications. This concern bounces off the fear of a “considerably weakened” sexual equality that will transpire if women continue to dominate the educational sphere.

The focus on fertility leads back to the ambition of Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orban, to see a surge in the country’s birth rate. In 2019, he announced that women with four children would be exempt from paying income tax for life.

Hungarian prime minister Victor Orban is working to increase the country’s birth rate (EPA)

Hungary’s opposition leader criticised the report on Facebook, as he wrote: “It is time to remove your glasses from the last century.” He added that the labelling of feminine and masculine traits is “total scientific absurdity”.

The country’s prime minister has experienced friction with the EU on numerous occasions over his policies on press freedom and migration. Hungary is also currently being sued by the European Commission for its highly controversial “anti-gay law”, which bans the depiction of homosexuality to under-18s.