IN RUSSIA THE WORD "POWER" IS OF MASCULINE GENDER

Olga Papkova

Today in Russian Parliament women are represented with only 7,7 percent. In the regional legislative bodies we are represented with not more than 10 per cent. In the Russian Army there is not a single woman general, although in general in the military departments of Russia more than half million o the personnel are wearing skirts.

Today's male image of our Duma is the result of the absolute monopoly of one sex for all the pre-election's budgets. One of the sociological paradoxes of the Russian political life is the fact, that Communist Party (KPRF) - the organization of the authoritarian and patriarchal type - is bringing to power every year more women than organizations do, which declare themselves as democratic. Communists, while denying the idea of women's equal rights on the program level, still continue traditionally the orientation toward the women's representation in the legislative power bodies.

In their turn both "Yabloko" and SPS while nominating for election nearly the same number of women like Communists do, are not able to persuade their electorate without special propaganda to vote for their women candidates. As for LDPR, it is written without ceremony in their program: LDPR while fighting for the happy life of the fair sex of the Russian nation is categorically denying feminism as extremist political tendency which is stirring up antagonism between sexes and aiming at the legal capture of the leading functions in the society by women. Vladimir Zhirinovskiy even proposed to Duma to discuss the law draft about prohibition of abortions for ten years and restriction for women to go abroad. By the way, in LDPR itself is not a single woman face is to be seen.

The facts that after each election in the legislative bodies remain less and less women are not confusing the leadership of the winning parties. And we at the end have the legislation, which is protecting the male interests in the first place. The interests of women, families, children and youth are not even taking the second place - they are barely taking the twenty-second place.

The whole economic legislation - tax, customs, credit and monetary - is objectively contributing to the aggravation of the gender inequality, and is oriented toward establishing more favorable "male" industries than "female" ones, - says political scientist Svetlana Aivasova.

This point of view is supported by co-chairman of the political movement "Women of Russia" Alevtina Fedulova: In all the countries carrying out the gender policy, which means the policy of establishing of equal rights for men and women, the social problems are taking first place. As for Russian male politicians the words "gender" and "tender" mean the same for them.

Lately the politically engaged women understand clearly that politics - are the male field and the laws of the woman's logic - taking care of old and children - do not work there. Aiming to solve social problems many women are establishing their own organizations, which are protecting the interests of weak and poor ones. Tatiana Yarygina organized the women's movement of "Yabloko", communist Alevtina Aparina - Women's Union and Union of Children Advocacy.

As a matter of fact most of the women organizations established in the mid 90-s declare philanthropy as their main mission. In the first place this means help to unemployed women in job-seeking, advocacy of women's interests in the legal proceedings, philanthropic actions for women and disabled children. As fairly said one of the members of the First National Conference of Non-profit Organizations taken place in October 2000, our non-profit sector has a women face. As a rule, as establishers of such philanthropic funds and organizations act women who experienced life problems or have disabled children. Joining the others who have same problems, they are looking for sponsors, exchanging information and conducting social actions attracting the attention of public opinion to their problems.

As for the part of the Russian women movements which is setting for itself the task to develop the strategy of the equal gender rights and opportunities and appears as remarkable crossing of the today's political process and the social life.

Once powerful political movement "Women of Russia" which leaders at the elections 1993 were Ekaterina Lakhova and Alevtina Fedulova, passed away in 1996 and its "mothers-founders" are heading now competing organizations. Ekaterina Fillipovna became the head of the Movement of Russia's Women before the last elections. But they do not think that such a "divorce" is a betrayal of the common idea of women's antidiscrimination.

Russian women's movement today looks sometimes like public kitchen, sometimes like traditional village talks on the bench, sometimes like parade of martial Amazonians. But nevertheless women are contributing with their concrete initiatives to the development of the democratic society in our country.

All the critical problems, which appeared as result of the reforms are affecting women in the first place, - Ekaterina Lakhova thinks, - today we see our task in realization of the idea of equal rights, freedoms and opportunities for men and women. Therefore we introduced the draft under which in every electoral party or coalition the percentage of any sex should not exceed 70 per cent.

As the political scientist Svetlana Aivasova thinks, would the percentage of men and women in Duma and Government and in the Security Council be about the same, most probably Russia would not be involved into lingering and agonizing military conflict with Chechnya.

Similar suppositions have good grounds. Estimated by UNO, only when in the Chamber of Deputies the percentage of women is more than 20 per cent, legislators start seriously working out law drafts toward advocacy of children's rights. Only when the share of women in the power bodies is approaching 30 per cent, laws and state programs appear, which are advocating vital interests of women. In Canada, Island, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland during last decades real women's revolutions were made. Therefore we should not wonder, that namely there the every day's problems of people became the main priorities of policy - independently from the sex, age and other biographical particulars.

However in the way of Russian women, who are fighting for real political power, stand obstacles not only from the side of men-competitors, but from the side of women's electorate as well. Unfortunately, we should admit, that women climbing to power and success and reaching it, are drawing the disapproval of their fellow countrywomen, who are supporting the traditional division of the gender roles. The biblical legend, that our progenitress was created from the man's rib with one purpose - to help and serve to the man -occurred too much our minds. However, during the millenniums passed since the times of Adam and Eve our world has been drastically changed and developed and now we should not be catching stubbornly on the antiquated distribution of the roles, but on contrary we should re-examine them critically.