Education and gender in revolutionary societies: insights from Vietnam, Nicaragua, and Eritrea

Based on the work of Bourdieu, this paper analyses how far formal education within a revolutionary setting can act as a ‘strategy‐generating’ institution in terms of enabling women to aspire to and achieve goals they would not even have envisaged pre‐revolution. In making its case, it draws on the examples of three revolutionary societies: Vietnam (since 1976), Nicaragua (1979–1990) and Eritrea (since 1991). It is argued that even though not eliminating gender as a discriminatory marker, education indeed creates room for personal emancipation. While this could equally be achieved by openings within a neo‐liberal setting, a strong focus on fostering social cohesion makes educational policies in revolutionary societies different. The paper ends by arguing that revolutionary states can offer valuable lessons for education as a source of social equity. It advocates to newly consider what type of state supports what kind of education system and for what purpose.