FEMINIST LETTER NO 2
To all feminists
Six weeks ago you received a letter from me where I expressed hopes of my parliamentary seat being put to use by the feminist movement. My reasons for this initiative were mainly that feminism is not accorded the space it deserves in the estalished political parties and that together we could increase our effforts to speed up the process of change and further the cause of feminism.Now I would like to report back what has happened since, how my « declaration of independence « has been received and how I think of the future, give some structure to the speculations which have arisen in the media etc.
Comments have varied in kind. With a few notable exceptions, and scarcely surprisingly, the media have questioned my motives. One such comment is that I as a person am a nonchalant « glider »wishing to exempt myself from the daily grind of parliamentary work and to acquire for my own sake a political VIP-status, my primary aim being to have the spotlights focused on me. It has also been said that I am turning into a « single-issue politician » with an unusually « narrow » perspective. A characteristic example of this type of comment comes from Per Westerberg(the Moderates) who in Svenska Dagbladet( leading conservative daily)2003-10-01 writes that my focus is a bit « strange », and continues-« As a Member of Parliament one has a greater responsibility, as I see it, to concentrate on other things besides a very « narrow » issue.
The media have then gone on to discuss (my ??)plans for starting a feminist party. Starting from insinuating speculations one has quickly gone on to create something that is « true », and which can even be measured by opinion polls. The next step was to question how much support there is for Gudrun Schyman’s plans for a feminist plarty and present the answer in headlines as a personal defeat (although quite a few were surprised at the number of people who turned out to be favourable to the idea!).
What was gratifying and so much more important, was the large number of e-mails, letters and phone calls that I received, full of warm support, sincere encouragement and cheerful greetings. Quite unbelievable ! What commitment ! What strength !
There is a sea of eperience to draw from, there is rich soil for planting and there is a heaven full of sparkling ideas to light up patriarchal darkness ! And this is of course what we will do – all of us together ! Where ever we are, where ever we walk, where ever we stand !
I have received suggestions and points of view(as yet I haven’t had the time to deal with them all)on issues ranging from free sanitary towels(should be self-evident)to how women can bring pressure to bear on international security policies in order to implement the UN-resolution on involving women in the peace-making and peace-keeping process. Some of the proposals and ideas are already being processed within the parliamentary system, others I will strive to introduce by way of questions to the minister responsible, or use in discussions and debates such as the parliamentary debate on equal rights on Nov 20th.
In an appendix, a special supplement, to the annual budget for the year 2004, there is material which sets out pretty clearly sosme of the consequences of patriarchal power structures. The appendix contains an analysis of how the nation’s resources are distributed between women and men. There is an assessment of how we use our time and what we actually do, including both paid and únpaid work, wages and income, (ie wages earned including income support), and how social security is distributed between the sexes. So interesting ! and at times depressing !
Take, for example, the following extract : « Comparisons show us that lower levels of income in the labour market for women, in wages and business returns, are reproduced in the social security systems, unemployment benefits and pension schemes, since individual pay is what theses sytems are based on. Today’s financial inequality between women and men in their wage-earning years will therefore presumably be perpetuated amongst future pensioners. »
It can also be seen that higher education is a less remunerative for women, that rehabilitation efforts on their behalf are initiated later and cost less than those for men, and that the so called options open to parents as to who is to make use of parental leave mean that an overwhelming majority of women still do so.
It is also clear that women’s incomes fall when they move in with a man, even when no children are involved. It is there in black and white. A single woman earns more than a cohabitating woman without children. A woman’s unpaid work increases, reducing the time available for paid work when two people start living together. The « care- of- healthy- man- in- the- home » syndrome sets in, which is considerably strengthened when children come into the picture. We need some sort of declaration of contents for marriage and cohabitation ! Such as « Will you take this Lars Anders Johan to be your wedded husband, aware of the fact that your wages will fall, which in turn will have consequences for how much you get from all social security systems and finally give you a lower pension ? » »
In this useful appendix it is thus possible to see the (power)structures that consistently separate the sexes and consistently regard women’s experience and work as less valuable than men’s. It is a patriarchal order the focal point of which lies in the imbalance between paid and unpaid work, between the areas governed by the minister of labour and the ministers in charge of social security and social insurance. It is a complex intergovernmental issue, as we can see, difficult to handle the way politics are organized today. In four separate questions to four different ministers I have asked if they see the same pattern, and if they do, do they think it is acceptable, and if not, what do we do about it ?Answers and the debate will be mid-Novemeber, I believe.
Naturally the number of things that can be done is without limits. And there isn’t time to do everything. With this letter I have at least established a mail-list enabling me to communicate better with a greater number of you. At irregular intervals, but regularly, I promise to be back
With feminist greetings
Gudrun Schyman
Tillbaka till Tidigare Feministbrev
