13
Dec
2021
Watch
Equality between women and men in the European Union in 2018-2020 (debate)
Mr President, a few years ago, in response to a journalist's question as to whether she felt discriminated against as a woman, my country's current Prime Minister responded very aptly: "Your own question clearly demonstrates how deeply rooted this discrimination is". The last couple extended by more than 36 years the time needed to eradicate gender equality during the pandemic. In other words, the pandemic has erased the hope of women of all generations not to be judged solely by their gender. In the search for a solution to overcome the still slow progress or even backsliding in gender equality in some countries, it is necessary to strictly combat the opposition of the gender to the so-called traditional family. The family that far-right politicians lead out of the concept of disciplinary religion paints a fictional picture of the modern world. Here, daddy with deep love takes care of his children and the mommy who raises them at home. In this family, there are no disasters, deaths or social tensions, no one will lose that breadwinner (it is always a man), the income is enough for all the needs of the family. Clearly, this is a cheap ideological cliché. It can be destroyed by one elementary question – which is the right traditional family: Is it where a woman left behind by her husband tries to survive alone with her children, or is it the new husband's family, where the former spouse of the woman enjoys new offspring? I have asked this question many times in my own country. I never heard the answer. In terms of how we can consolidate equality between men and women, the emphasis is on empowering women in the labour market and in power structures, balancing leisure and work, and developing public care services. This is, of course, very important. However, I believe that the time has come to change the focus on gender equality. Instead of continually emphasizing the empowerment of women, let's start by emphasizing the empowerment of men in family life. Men, just like women, are truly intellectually and emotionally capable of raising children, of participating in domestic chores and of caring for caring family members. Reality is not changed by law. There is a lot of research: Laws cannot change many customs. Reality is changed by life itself and narratives are changed. Narratives and interpretations need to be changed.