When it comes to recent events in domestic Australian politics, Julia Gillard prefers to leave commentary to her colleagues in the Labor party.
But regarding the recent ousting of the prime minister, Tony Abbott, Gillard said on Wednesday: “I understand how he feels, having been there myself.”
Gillard, the former prime minister of Australia, who was replaced by Kevin Rudd in 2013, said that she wished Malcolm Turnbull well in his new role as prime minister. The moderate conservative Turnbull ousted the more rightwing Tony Abbott on 14 September.
Gillard wrote about her experience losing power for the Guardian in 2013, saying then that the pain of the loss “hits you like a fist, pain so strong you feel it in your guts, your nerve endings”.
Gillard’s comments came after a panel on girls’ education in New York. During her post-political career, Gillard has worked as a champion of girls’ education and serves as chair for the Global Partnership for Education. On Tuesday, Gillard joined a panel of female leaders, including Michelle Obama and the actor Charlize Theron, to talk about the importance of educating girls, joined by about 1,000 high school girls.
“I think it’s been incredibly energizing to get to meet these young women, and see their enthusiasm,” Gillard told the Guardian on Wednesday. “Beyond that I felt a great deal of engagement in making sure all of the world’s children get educated.”
Gillard, who in 2012 gave a now-famous speech on misogyny in reaction to alleged sexism from Abbott, who was opposition leader at the time, said her beliefs in gender equality had always been steadfast.
Gillard said she was very optimistic about the future of access to education around the world. Because of the connections provided by advances in technology, the current generation had become very conscious of global issues and understood the need to help others, she said.
“The technology that has connected us all is just so natural to them, and it’s natural to them to think on a global scale,” she said.
Making education accessible to all girls, especially in developing countries, differs according to the culture and country in question, Gillard said. In Afghanistan, the Global Partnership for Education, an organization that focuses on getting children educated in developing countries, has seen a growth in the number of girls going to school because more teachers are women. Gillard has worked to implement meal programs to make education more practical for families living in poverty in schools in other countries such as Yemen.
“More families are willing to send their girls to school if they’re taught by women,” she said.
