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<h1 class="title">Venezuela’s Maduro Vows Equal Gender
Representation for Parliament on International Women’s Day </h1>
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<p class="byline"> By <span class="author"> Rachael Boothroyd</span>
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<p style="text-align: justify;">Caracas, <span class="aBn"
data-term="goog_1144498404"><span class="aQJ">March 9th 2015</span></span> (<a
href="http://venezuelanalysis.com/" target="_blank">venezuelanalysis.com</a>)
Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro, has approved a series of
initiatives put forward by the country’s feminist movement aimed
at politically and economically empowering women in the South
American nation. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span>In a move hailed by women’s
movements as “historic,” the president announced that from 2015
onwards, at least 50% of legislators elected to the Venezuelan
National Assembly should be women. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span>“You have all approved the
proposal that the next National Assembly should have a parity of
composition, 50% men and 50% women, and I agree with that,
that’s how it must be. We should empower women more and more,”
stated Maduro from a presidential act in Caracas <span
class="aBn" data-term="goog_1144498405"><span class="aQJ">on
Sunday</span></span>. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span>The announcement was made in
anticipation of elections for the legislative body, which will
take place later this year. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span>It is still unclear as to
whether the country’s opposition will be obliged to adopt equal
representation in its nominations, but the president confirmed
that the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) is
currently in preparations to ensure that the 50% quota is
reflected in its primary elections. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span>The move reflects a general
tendency within organisations allied to the Bolivarian
revolution, and particularly the communal councils, which are
often principally run and led by women. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span>The president’s announcements
were met with vocal adulation by the thousands of women who had
gathered at <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1144498406"><span
class="aQJ">Sunday’s</span></span> presidential act in
commemoration of International Women’s Day. Many had taken part
in the country’s National Women’s Congress, which also came to a
close earlier the same day. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span>“It was excellent, we worked
and debated for three days on all of the proposals, to create a
kind of just feminism, a country of socialist revolutionaries,
and a better Venezuela and world,” said Marie Moncada, a member
of the Mothers of the Barrio mission cum social movement in
Cojedes. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span>Over 50 proposals were put
forward to the president by women’s groups at the congress
following days of debate on a number of different issues,
including the construction of a feminist state, sexist violence
and sexual and reproductive rights. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span><span>Over 2500 women
activists participated in the congress, which included d</span>elegations
of rural women workers, workers, mothers of the barrio, young
women, women from the country’s people’s militia, women
combatants, indigenous women, students, sportswomen, women
artists and craftswomen all attended the event. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span><strong>UNAMUJER Created,
Women to Tackle the Bourgeoisie</strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span>Two of the most significant
proposals to emerge from the congress which were subsequently
approved by the president <span class="aBn"
data-term="goog_1144498407"><span class="aQJ">on Sunday</span></span> include
the creation of a new National Union of Women (UNAMUJER) to
defend women’s rights and the transfer of control over the
“production, distribution and importation” of “essential items
for women and the family” to the new UNAMUJER and the
Presidential Women’s Commission. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span>“I believe that you are
precisely who can bring the parasitic practices of the
oligarchic bourgeoisie under control,” declared the president to
the women present. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span>Maduro went on to task the
Minister for Women, Andreina Tarazon, with creating a team of
female economists and administrators in order to take charge of
the country’s supplies of sanitary towels and diapers. He also
gave orders to a series of ministers to come up with a
“production plan” for items deemed necessary for women. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span>“I give you Ministers, Marco
Torres, Jose David Cabello, Isabel Delgado, Andreina Tarazon… I
give you 72 hours to present to me a production plan which will
guarantee women the items that they need to live,” he stated. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span>Despite the historical burden
that women have carried in term of domestic care, many feminist
activists greeted the move with optimism. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span>“Look, here the economic war
has been launching a frontal assault for the past two years… The
production of childcare and personal care items are in the hands
of the transnationals, the same as baby milk formula… Because of
this, women have started to produce, for example reusable
diapers which they sew themselves…"</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span>“I think what our comrade
president is saying that we are going to foster these
initiatives and at the same time, we are advancing towards the
construction of a new national production model… I think it’s a
positive thing,” Maira Perez of the Feminist Spider Network,
told Venezuelanalysis. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span><strong>The Congress</strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span>2015 was the third year
running that the National Women’s Congress has been held. For
Anyoeli Villegas, a member of national collective the “School of
People’s Feminism,” this year’s congress was a much more
positive event than preceding years. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span>“I felt that this year was
much more working class, there was lots more representation from
ordinary women, and not just middle and upper class women after
a legislator position”. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span>Villegas attributes the
increased participation to growing consciousness and
organisation surrounding women’s issues amongst the social bases
of the revolution, as well as to the work being done by the new
Minister for Women, Tarazon, who at just 26 years of age is the
youngest politician to have taken up the role. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span>“She’s young, but she has
surrounded herself with a good team of real feminists, like
Rebeca Madriz [Vice-president for Gender Equality]”. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span>“She’s doing positive work,”
stated Villegas. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span><strong>Abortion: Let’s have
the debate</strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span>Villegas was not the only
activist to interpret the congress as a signal of a growing mass
movement for women’s rights in the country. <span class="aBn"
data-term="goog_1144498408"><span class="aQJ">Sunday</span></span> was
also the first time that President Maduro publicly called for an
open debate on the issue of legalising abortion, in direct
response to demands from activists. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span>The termination of a pregnancy
is prohibited by Venezuelan law in the predominantly Catholic
country with the exception of life threatening situations. It
carries a potential jail sentence of between 6 months to 2
years. Despite this, at least 10.4% of Venezuelan women are
thought to have undergone an illegal abortion according to a
study by obstetrician, Rogelio Perez D’Gregorio, although some
estimates place the number much higher. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span>“I know that you have lots of
proposals, some of them are controversial. I call on you for the
controversial issues, we shouldn’t be afraid of any issue, they
should all be debated - maternity protection, teenage pregnancy,
abortion, same-sex marriage, they all must be debated,” declared
Maduro.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span>Despite widespread opposition
to abortion, many feminist activists took the president’s call
as a radical recognition of women’s demands. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span>“When I heard the president
say that, I was just thrilled…That he wasn’t afraid to debate
the issue of abortion, for us, this is a huge achievement. In
fact, it’s difficult for us to believe it!” said Perez. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span>“In 2007 Chavez named
feminism, and in 2009 he publicly declared himself a feminist.
The same thing is happening with Maduro but much more quickly…
He himself said it when the Women’s Presidential Commission was
inaugurated, he said, 'I confess that I am ignorant on the issue
of sexual and reproductive rights, and I am asking for your
help.' Today we saw that that was sincere, he has considered the
proposals of our compañeras and has reflected on them…This is a
demonstration that the government listens to us as a people, as
women,” added Perez. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span><a
href="http://encuentrofeminista.weebly.com/despenalizacioacuten-del-aborto.html"
target="_blank">In a county where the third main cause of
death for pregnant women is home induced abortions</a></span><span>,
Perez is hoping for that the debate on legalising terminations
will take place sooner rather than later, in spite of the
existence of more conservative elements within the Venezuelan
feminist movement itself. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span>“There were 36 different
working groups at the conference, and this issue (of abortion)
came up at every table. It was heated, at one point some groups
event started chanting “no to abortion” but we stood our ground
and gave our arguments,” explained Villegas, who also volunteers
at the Information Network for Safe Abortion. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span>While no concrete date for the
debate has been set, activists such as Melitza Agani view <span
class="aBn" data-term="goog_1144498409"><span class="aQJ">Sunday’s</span></span> announcements
as a further step for the growing women’s rights movement that
has taken root and which continues to develop within the
Bolivarian Revolution. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span>“Finally we have been taken
into account, thanks to President Chavez, we women are on the
rise, we can defend ourselves, before we were stepped on by our
husbands but now we study, we work, there are even women
ministers,” explained activist Agani. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span>The more than 50 different
proposals put forward at the congress will be debated on <span
class="aBn" data-term="goog_1144498410"><span class="aQJ">April
8th</span></span> in a meeting between the president and the
Presidential Women’s Council. <br>
</span></p>
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