Tens of thousands of women have joined a general strike in Switzerland to demand gender equality and better representation in the public sphere
In Lausanne, demonstrations started on Thursday
night outside the cathedral, where for the first time in 600 years the
guardian of the bell tower was symbolically replaced by women and the
bell tower was illuminated in violet, the official colour of the protest
Equal opportunities, equal pay, equal space in the public sphere and recognition of women's competence were some of the demands that women in Switzerland brought to the streets in the march
Thirty-eight years after gender equality and equal pay were enshrined in the Swiss constitution, their implementation is still deficient.
Switzerland ranks 20th in the World Economic Forum's classification of countries on gender equality, behind many European nations
When it comes to gender equality within the economic sector, the country's position drops to 34th
In 1971, Swiss men voted in a referendum to change the Constitution and allow women to vote after they rejected the proposal in 1959
Elisabeth Blunschy became one of the first women to be elected as a member of parliament in 1971. In 1977, she became the first woman president of the National Council
But while in the public sphere women were gaining some rights, in the domestic one they were still subject to their husbands
Only in 1985, women were granted equal marriage rights. Until this date, a husband had legal authority over his wife, meaning, for example, he had to approve of her opening a bank account or could prevent her from working or living where she chose.
Under slogans including "If women want they can block the nation" and "Women's rights are human rights", protesters on Friday June 14,2019 took to the streets in Geneva, Zurich, Lausanne, Lugano and other major Swiss cities
Equal opportunities, equal pay, equal space in the public sphere and recognition of women's competence were some of the demands that women in Switzerland brought to the streets in the march
Thirty-eight years after gender equality and equal pay were enshrined in the Swiss constitution, their implementation is still deficient.
Switzerland ranks 20th in the World Economic Forum's classification of countries on gender equality, behind many European nations
When it comes to gender equality within the economic sector, the country's position drops to 34th
In 1971, Swiss men voted in a referendum to change the Constitution and allow women to vote after they rejected the proposal in 1959
Elisabeth Blunschy became one of the first women to be elected as a member of parliament in 1971. In 1977, she became the first woman president of the National Council
But while in the public sphere women were gaining some rights, in the domestic one they were still subject to their husbands
Only in 1985, women were granted equal marriage rights. Until this date, a husband had legal authority over his wife, meaning, for example, he had to approve of her opening a bank account or could prevent her from working or living where she chose.
No comments:
Post a Comment