Be awesome!
International Women’s Day in Brussels and beyond
Having grown up in a post-Communist country, I got used to quite early to survive embarrassing International Women’s Day scenes. My personal favorite was a song that the boys’ choir had to sing for the female teachers in the high school. The lyrics goes somehow like this: “Long live all the beautiful and charming women, who are sweet, simple and warm-hearted.” Those days, we couldn’t really feel the incredible irony of being praised for feminine clichés that has nothing to do with the real purpose of Women’s day: to celebrate equality and women’s empowerment. We were only giggling about the word “simple” that might have been a positive term in the 1950s, but describing a person like this got derogatory after the 2000s.
The other evergreen source of embarrassment was to see directors and bosses “descending to the basement”, meddling with ordinary folks and handling flowers to the female employees. And it is still happening now, just check out Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán’s recent video, featuring his visit to the kitchen of the parliament. He, the important leader thanks the ladies for feeding him because, as he points out, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to work. If communist leader János Kádár had had a Facebook forty years ago, he would have posted exactly the same footage.
Well, I would have preferred to see him chatting with women having a career in male-dominant sectors (like René van Hell, the Dutch ambassador serving in Budapest did so) or do something more modern. But it’s fair enough. It’s part of the folklore. And I bet he made the whole month of the ladies in the kitchen (who probably had cooked for Kádár as well), because their precious work was finally appreciated.
Spain’s feminist strike tasted a bit like a time time-travel as well. Mobilizing – or more precisely de-mobilizing – more than 5 million angry women suggests that something is fundamentally wrong with society. Namely, the country’s enduring “machista culture” that favors discrimination, harassment and unequal salaries for equal jobs. Some protesters even said that nothing has changed since General Francisco Franco’s dictatorship days.
As we have learnt by the #metoo scandal, something is fundamentally wrong is Brussels as well. Still, I believe that things are slowly changing after so many cases have been revealed. Yes, the European Parliament needs a better investigative body and a more rigorous approach against harassment. Shedding a light on the issue won’t necessarily eliminate all the bullies. But maybe some of them will think twice to hit on an employee who hasn’t shown any clear interest in getting more intimate with them.
I also truly hope that women will also change, and find more courage to speak up for their rights in situations where they feel humiliated. Because putting the entire blame on men and portraying ourselves as victims is misleading. We, women also have a responsibility to fight for ourselves if we face inequality or mistreatment. In the EU, we have all the legal background to do so. Moreover, the #metoo campaign and the sort of fashion to be feminist (even American celebrity queen Kim Kardashian has declared herself to be full-time feminist, which is more than ironic, let’s admit) makes it easier than ever.
The new feminist emoji collection of Kim Kardashian
Of course, there is still a long way to go. But I suggest to all of my sisters to stop and pay a moment of gratitude for the life we have. We wake up. We are awesome. We go to bed. This is how we roll in Europe, the best place on Earth to be a woman.