Admitting personal failure in making headway in advancing women and underage people’s health, Estonia’s former head of state said despite having all the right institutional structures and constant attention, women are still put in last place when “serious” crises erupt.
In an interview with EURACTIV Slovakia, Estonia’s ex-president Kersti Kaljulaid said, “we created all the necessary bodies and various tools which we seem to be using. But for some reason, it is still the case that if something serious happens, such as a pandemic or a war, women’s issues are pushed to the back page.”
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Kaljulaid has been the General Advocate of the Every Woman, Every Child, a UN programme meant to advance the health and well-being of women, children and adolescents, for a year but admits she is “failing big time” in meeting her goals.
Upon assuming the position, she chose three priorities, the use of technology, nutrition, and maternal mortality, but the latter two have deteriorated over the last 12 months.
“We are facing a food crisis, which is entirely created by Russia, and 400 million more will starve because of it,” she said, adding that due to the ongoing pandemic, maternal mortality has decreased due partly to insufficient access to medical care.
She also believes that organisations and bodies set up to help women are inefficient, despite doing such work for years.
“We created all the necessary bodies and various tools which we seem to be using. But for some reason, it is still the case that if something serious happens, such as a pandemic or a war, women’s issues are pushed to the back page.”
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Women’s issues
But when it comes to involving men in discussions on women’s issues, Estonia´s former president insists that men and women are not different and should not be competing over who is more compassionate.
“In many societies, females tend to specialise in social issues, and obviously, it should not be like that… We need to try to give women opportunities to lead it this way, but also never forget that men have hearts and are not less compassionate.”
Asked whether she thinks increasing women’s empowerment brings something new to debates, she said no, but the presence of female prime ministers and presidents takes away the surrounding novelty in Europe.
“This is the best thing that could have happened. It is difficult to reach such positions, but because it is a bottleneck, not because someone is a woman,” she said.
‘Not a feminist’
Despite Kaljulaid applauding the advancement of women, she is adamant she is not a feminist.
“I am not a feminist. I do not even have the correct vocabulary for that…I do not feel that I am one of them,” she said.
Kaljulaid explains she grew up in a family where she was not told she could not achieve things that boys could.
“I observe society, and I am very open about saying what I see. If that makes me a feminist, then I am one, but I, unfortunately, do not even command the theory,” she continues, adding that we need “positive discrimination to keep women advancing in their careers for the simple fact that men do not get pregnant.”
She said that women have fought to participate in the workforce “like a man,” but then they forget about the family and “somebody has to take care of” the children.
“When women are being pregnant, they are at the age when men get their first directorships, so we need to observe it and react to it, as it is not a discrimination against men, it is a fact of life, we are different. But we need to make sure that these differences are supported and celebrated,” she said.
Feminist foreign policy
When asked about so-called ‘feminist foreign policies’, particularly from Germany, Spain and France, Kaljulaid said, “I do not know what they mean by it, whether they all mean to be simply compassionate about children and women dying and being raped in Ukraine. I know plenty of men who are compassionate.”
“If you want to call this the feminist foreign policy, so be it if it helps us to sustain the Ukrainian border,” she said, adding that it should be up to Ukrainians to decide when they are ready to negotiate, and this should not include them being asked to give up territory.
She did, however, call for more unity in assisting Ukraine, noting that “We should put all the effort to convince the others. If the big forces start moving, then we know that the impact is far bigger. We are the catalysers, and the rest is following.”
But she cautioned that society is often quick to forget atrocities as the war becomes a part of our everyday lives.
“It is quite easy to forget. Therefore, it is our job to remind the people of the free world that it is not over,” she implored.
“Society tends to brush the terrible things such as domestic and sexual violence, rapes, and killings, such as those that happened in Buča or Irpin, under the carpet. If the good ones turn their heads away, the bad ones always win. And I really hope that we have learnt this time.
[Edited by Alice Taylor]
Source: euractiv.com
