Significance of feminist advocacy practices for SDG 4

The pursuit of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, which advocates for inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities, emphasizes the empowerment of epistemically marginalized groups. Achieving this requires transformative approaches to dismantling coercive social imaginaries that shape normative frameworks for knowledge production. Recognizing the situatedness of the knower and fostering democratic negotiations of knowledge claims shift the focus from dominant institutional narratives to inclusive epistemic practices. Initiatives like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) and Understanding of Lifelong Learning for All in Society (ULLAS) in India exemplify efforts to address systemic educational inequities. Feminist advocacy underscores the ecological interconnectedness of cohabitation, promoting social transformation. Advancing SDG 4 requires a critical examination of power dynamics in knowledge dissemination and the integration of innovative methods. Drawing on feminist frameworks and policy analysis, this paper argues that integrating feminist advocacy into educational methodologies advances inclusive, equitable, and transformative learning systems. It contributes a conceptual toolkit for assessing epistemic inclusion in the design of SDG-4 policies.