- The History Of Women In Politics
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The history of world politics is common sense for many, but if we stop to analyze, there are few references to the female insertion in this trajectory, we know at most about the women who were part of the monarchy. The path was long and traced to small steps, with the beginning of the female suffragette movement, which began in the second half of the eighteenth century. The fight for the right to vote and, subsequently, for participation in public jobs was a very important victory. The first countries to surrender women’s wrestling were New Zealand in 1893 and Finland in 1906. But this is not a sign of absolute victory, inequality in this aspect is also great. In Brazil, for example, this achievement occurred only in 1932 with the federal constitution, and in more extreme situations, such as Saudi Arabia in 2011. Public office, on the other hand, was gradually held after the right to vote. The first woman to hold a political position in Brazil was Luíza Alzira SorianoTeixeira, in the municipality of Lajes, Rio Grande do Norte, in 1928.
- The growing political power of women
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And even under a lot of under-judgment, prejudice, lack of support and representativeness, the struggle did not weaken, on the contrary, it only gained more strength. This force soon turned into a gigantic support network and brought more rights to try to match the electoral conditions of men and women, such as a law that requires a minimum percentage of women in the Brazilian congress.
- The Benefits Of That Growing And How It’s Going On
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This growth has done good for both parties involved. The women, who intend to enter public life by taking political office, as well as their voters. The voters feel increasingly welcomed, respected and relieved to know that there are women thinking about building public policies aimed at women,
and mainly, made by women who know and pass on the skin the difficulties of being a woman in a patriarchal society. But it is important to note that we are far from ideal, with each passing year the attacks on female representation increase and become more aggressive. As was said by Simone de Beauvoir a few decades ago: “Never forget that a political, economic or religious crisis is enough for women’s rights to be questioned. These rights are not permanent. You will have to remain vigilant throughout your life.”.
- What A Brazilian Female Candidate Think About That?
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To make the subject more illustrated we talked with Izabella Vicente, 25 years, candidate for councilwoman of the city of Macaé, Rio de Janeiro. Iza, as she is known, began her journey in the struggle for social rights very early. Being a woman, black and raised in a periphery in the interior of Rio de Janeiro, she had to go through situations that awakened her critical sense about social inequalities. His career begins at the law school of the Fluminense Federal University, located in Macaé, and it was during college that Iza created bonds with the city, where she is a candidate. She is currently a postgraduate student in human rights and before her candidacy, she was already an activist for education and political participation.
During the interview, Iza tells us about the imbalance in political participation between women and men in her city; about the lack of representativeness; it’s difficulties and how it sees the future of women in politics:
“We have a scenario here of 17 vacancies in the chamber, and today, there is only one woman, so our intention is to change this reality and bring more female representation into politics.This is the first year that I’m a candidate for something, because being my first year was a time of much reflection. People always told me that I had potential, but deep down I questioned my own ability by an absence of references that show that it is possible.”.
- A Challeging Path
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“The three difficulties that I cast as main today are the financial resources, because to move around the city, we need to appeal. Another point is politics being very sexista, so in various contexts you are the only woman on the spot, you being the only young person, it causes a feeling of loneliness in some spaces. And the third point is the pandemic itself. We have many health limitations and people are more shy of participating in mobilizations, by the risk they take, which is totally understandable. And so the internet has been key, I can say that 50% of our campaign work is on the internet.”.
“I see a very challenging scenario for the future of women in politics. But what I’ve seen on the street is that at least women understand that they need to be represented in the spaces of power. So many times when we’re going to hand over a brochure, someone passes by and says “look a woman, that’s nice, I want to vote for you” this causes identification! I believe that the future will be more feminine, because women will occupy the spaces that are rightfully theirs, so that we have a more balanced society, with women also participating in decisive processes. The horizon I see is a challenging horizon, it will not be easy, as it is not being for me, as it was not for those who came before me, but I’m sure that the awareness that we need to be present and fighting for our rights, it is real, and is in the hearts of many women in Brazil.“.
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The article above was edited by Lívia Carvalho.
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