Kinshasa, July 20th, 2025 (CPA).- The measure taken by the Ministry of National Education and New Citizenship of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to keep pregnant girls in school has been encouraged by an Italian social activist, according to an analysis document consulted by the CPA on Saturday. « In July 2025, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a simple ministerial circular took the form of a symbolic gesture with considerable social significance. This note affirms a clear principle, according to which pregnant girls now have the right to remain in school, » wrote Cristina Di Silvio, Director of Legal Affairs and Treaty Compliance at the United Nations Global Economic Development Fund Association (Goedfa). ‘It is no longer acceptable that pregnancy, especially in schools, should be a cause for forced withdrawal from education,’ she said.
According to Ms Di Silvio, this text overturns a paradigm deeply rooted in a society often marked by political crises, structural poverty and violence against women, and challenges the idea that ‘the female body, perceived as vulnerable, should withdraw from the public sphere’. These bodies, often silenced, have the right to remain and continue learning. ‘School thus becomes a place of resilience, rather than stigmatization,’ she noted. This social activist, who is committed to the cause of this United Nations structure, welcomed this remarkable advance by the DRC, which will be applied in Portugal in 2025, where measures taken by these two states have a common thread, namely the recognition of the reality of the female body, not as an anomaly to be concealed, but as an integral part of citizenship in the field of education for the DRC and work for Portugal.
Advocacy for menstrual leave in Italian law
Following the example of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Portugal, Ms Di Silvio called on Italy to break the silence on the issue of menstruation, in particular by enshrining in law paid menstrual leave for women suffering from endometriosis or adenomyosis, i.e. three days per month, paid for by the state, without any administrative red tape. » In our country, annual leave is still not enshrined in law (…). Female workers suffering from endometriosis or other similar conditions have to resort to taking standard sick leave, which involves cumbersome procedures, legal uncertainties and often a lack of empathy on the part of employers, » revealed Cristina Di Silvio. » Looking at the Democratic Republic of Congo and Portugal, we can no longer hide behind the myth of “European legal civilisation”, » she said, adding that perhaps it is time for Italian lawmakers to stop and listen, because in law, listening is not a weakness, but rather a form of justice. ACP/