Anti-gender policies in post-socialist European countries 1/2

Written by: Ricci Elena

Translated by: Amina Murhebwa

13/11/2023

Anti-gender discourse and movements found particularly fertile ground in the post-socialist countries of Eastern Europe from the 20th century. The policies applied against the rights of all present unique characteristics in this region. This is notably due to the impact and legacy of specific historical experiences and sociological and cultural factors^[1]Norocel, O. C., David Paternotte, D., (2023) The Dis/Articulation of Anti-Gender Politics in Eastern Europe: Introduction, Problems of Post-Communism, 70:2, 123-129. 10.1080/10758216.2023.2176075. Eastern European governments are increasingly promoting traditional values and equating the struggle for gender equality and women’s rights with the loss of the cultural and traditional identity upheld by Christianity. The discourse of anti-gender politicians in Eastern Europe denounces a gender ideology allied to neo-Marxist theories. Those who defend these ideas seem to think that the European Union and the West are an institutional whole aiming at the introduction of new ideas linked, for example, to the question of gender, whose values would be opposed to conservative movements and parties. For them, this fuels Eurosceptic feelings^[2]Kováts, E., (2021) Anti-gender Politics in East-Central Europe: Right-wing Defiance to West-Eurocentrism. Gender – Zeitschrift für Geschlecht, Kultur und Gesellschaft. 13(1-2021), 76–90. … Continue reading.

This article analyses the link between anti-European Union rhetoric and anti-gender discourse in Eastern Europe, based on the observation of the common historical heritage of these countries, namely Communism and the importation of feminist ideals from the West. It examines women’s rights in Eastern Europe in three historical phases : Communism after the Second World War until the fall of the Berlin Wall, the democratic and economic transition in the 1990s, and finally the affirmation of political anti-gender these days.

The representation of women under Communism in Eastern Europe

The “socialist emancipation project”^[3]Kennedy, M., Tilly, C., (1987). Socialism, Feminism and the Stillbirth of Socialist Feminism in Europe, 1890-1920. Science & Society, 51:1, 6–42. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40402759 was born within the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (the USSR) in 1922. This project aimed to make the integration of women into the active population compulsory. It was implemented after the Second World War in satellite countries of the USSR, such as Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria. The socialists of this era thought that the only way to liberate the working class was to integrate women into the socialist movement: the emancipation of women could only be achieved through the emancipation of the proletariat and vice versa^[4]Ghodsee, K. R., (2018), Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism and Other Arguments for Economic Independence, Bold Type Books, 85. In all socialist states of the second half of the 20th century, the participation of women in the national economy, and therefore their inclusion in the labor market, was obligatory by the policies put in place. The socialist state system of the socialist bloc states provided for long paid maternity and childcare leave, daycare and after-school care, access to abortion, family allowances and support for divorced women or widows^[5]Rueschemeyer, Marilyn & Gal, Susan & Kligman, Gail. (2002). The Politics of Gender after Socialism: A Comparative-Historical Essay. Slavic Review. 10.2307/2697497. Women living at this time and under this regime did not experience certain forms of discrimination denounced by Western feminists, such as exclusion from the labor market and marital economic dependence.

However, forms of inequality remained: low and unequal salaries, inability to progress in one’s career and to leave the labor market to avoid the “double burden”^[6]Rossmiller, E., (2012), Review Essay: Gender Politics in Post-Socialist Central Eastern Europe. Review of European and Russian Affairs. Review of European and Russian Affairs. 7. … Continue reading. Women were responsible for maintaining the home, raising children and caring for the elderly while working. It was therefore necessary to communalize most of the food, childcare and household chores^[7]Harsch, D., (2013) ‘Communism and Women’, in The Oxford Handbook of the History of Communism, p. 489, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199602056.013.028 : community kitchens, laundries, kindergartens, nursery schools and children’s homes were organized ^[8]Gardiner, J. (1997) Gender, Care and Economics. London: MacMillan Press. p. 76.

At the political level, gender quotas have been introduced since the 1950s in the legislatures of all socialist states and efforts have been made to recruit women into local communist parties. In fact, the representation of women in parliaments reached an average of 25% in the 1980s^[9]Rashkova, E. and Zankina, E., (2020), “Women in Politics in Eastern Europe: 30 Years After the Fall of the Berlin Wall”. n Women, Policy, and Political Leadership: Regional Perspectives, eds. … Continue reading in Bulgaria, Croatia and the Czech Republic^[10]Forest, M., (2011), “From State-Socialism to EU accession: Contrasting the Gendering of (Executive) Political Power in Central Europe”, 2nd ECPR Conference, Budapest. This growth must, however, be nuanced: few women have held positions of high responsibility in the political field. This is also valid for other areas of activity^[11]Rashkova, Ekaterina R. and Zankina, Emilia (2012). ‘When Less means More: Influential women of the Right – the case of Bulgaria’, Working Paper Series on the Legal Regulation of Political … Continue reading.

The post-communist transition and the export of Western feminism

The socialist and feminist movements developed jointly in the early 19th century. From the following century, this debate split into two currents: one based on liberal theories and the interests of women, the other on socialist theories and global economic interests. The liberal movement developed from the contradiction between the dominant liberal ideology of individual rights and achievements and the increasing freedom of middle-class men to act in accordance with this ideology in relation to themselves, while the role of middle-class women was limited to that of wife, mother, and sometimes teacher. From this current born the suffragette movement^[12]Jacquemart, A., (2017), Une histoire genrée des mouvements suffragistes, Vingtième Siècle. Revue d’Histoire, 133, 3-14. https://doi.org/10.3917/ving.133.0003 ; the latter having influenced Western liberal feminism. The second movement developed from socialist thought, born in reaction to the social changes brought about by the industrial revolution in the first half of the 19th century. This movement aims to reorganize society on a collectivist basis and according to principles of substantial equality. From this current came the bases of growing feminism in the socialist countries of the 20th century.

The fall of Berlin was a breaking point in the modern era, which allowed the values of democracy, but also those of the capitalist system, to be established within societies. Western liberal feminism has been exported to post-socialist European countries. Liberal feminism aims for legal equality between the sexes and advocates the individual development of women^[13]Ghodsee, K. R., (2004) “Feminism‐by‐Design: Emerging Capitalisms, Cultural Feminism, and Women’s Nongovernmental Organizations in Postsocialist Eastern Europe.” p. 10. Signs: Journal of … Continue reading. He defends the rights of women and their representation, particularly institutionally. The objective is as follows: the rights given to men must be extended to all. Furthermore, classical liberal feminism asserts that once discriminatory laws and policies are eliminated, women will be able to compete on equal terms with men in an otherwise unchanged economic and social system^[14]Tungohan, E., (2010), “Is Global Sisterhood Elusive? A Critical Assessment of the Transnational Women’s Rights Movement.” Atlantis: Canadian Journal of Women’s Studies 34 (2): 104-114. Vol. … Continue reading.

By changing international and national governance institutions and increasing the number of women in positions of power, gender equality could indeed be achieved.

By exporting Western liberal feminism to countries of the former Soviet bloc, associations responsible for protecting women’s rights in the West were exported as NGOs, think tanks and advocacy groups to countries in the East. Under socialist regimes, many gender equality policies were adopted: advanced education, the right to divorce and abortion before 1968, participation in the labor market and state support for motherhood are all prerogatives of the socialist system^[15]Ghodsee, K. R., Mead, J., (2018), What has socialism ever done for women?, Harvard University. However, in the process of exporting these values, and their affirmations in post-socialist societies, the cultural heritage of Eastern Europe has not been considered. Likewise, the perspectives of the different issues and problems that women in these regions faced have not been studied in any way^[16]Ghodsee, K. R., (2004), Feminism-by-design: Emerging Capitalisms, cultural feminism, and women’s nongovernmental organizations in post socialist Eastern Europe. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture … Continue reading.

Unlike liberal feminists, Eastern European women in the 1990s did not demand to be fully integrated into the labour market^[17]Ghodsee, K. R., (2015), The Left Side of History: World War II and the Unfulfilled Promise of Communism in Eastern Europe, Duke University Press. They had been forced to work for decades under the communist regime. After years of oppression due to the double burden of motherhood and work, the choice not to work was initially seen as a liberation. Western liberal feminism has set itself three primary objectives: to affirm formal legal equality, to strengthen and promote the full integration of women into the world of work and to become massive social support for motherhood. These rights had already been obtained by women in all the countries of the socialist bloc, which accentuated the gap and the adaptation of rights to each social system. This left women in the East feeling erased from the political, economic, and social landscape of their societies. The fight for gender equality was constructed differently between pro-Western societies, such as France or the United Kingdom, and post-socialist societies such as Belarus, Ukraine, and Romania^[18]Ghodsee, K. R., (2015), The Left Side of History: World War II and the Unfulfilled Promise of Communism in Eastern Europe, Duke University Press.

Paradoxically, these same rights and advances disappeared with the fall of the USSR. The development of Western capitalism began in 1989, following the fall of the Russian communist system. This led to the dismantling of the communist-style welfare state and the consequent closure of after-school institutions, hospitals, and schools, while leading to a decline in wages and purchasing power^[19]Nails, D., Arnold, J., (2001) “Gender Assessment and Plan of Action for USAID/Bulgaria”, A Women in Development Technical Assistance Project. https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/Pdabu040.pdf. Women and children were among the first to be impacted by the decline in living standards. An action plan on gender and the analysis of socio-economic indicators from a gender perspective linked to the transition to democracy and the market economy was put in place in 2001. Led by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) initiative recognizes that “women have suffered the greatest losses in childcare and childcare services”^[20]Nail, D., Arnold, J., (2001), Gender Assessment and Plan of Action for USAID/Bulgaria, p. 28 https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/Pdabu040.pdf. The introduction of tuition fees, in a context of falling household incomes and a substantial reduction in government support, has led to a significant increase in women’s domestic workload. Their participation in the labour market quickly became limited^[21]Nails, D., Arnold, J., (2001) “Gender Assessment and Plan of Action for USAID/Bulgaria”, A Women in Development Technical Assistance Project, pp. 28 https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/Pdabu040.pdf.

As a result, women lost the financial autonomy and security that their financial independence and professional stability provided them at the time.

Furthermore, liberal feminism favours the line of thinking of a unified global sisterhood and prioritizes gender issues over those of racial or class discrimination. The result is a sociopolitical analysis based on a gender perspective, which separates men and women. This stands in stark contrast to the socialist cultural heritage. Ethnographer Kristen Ghodsee, who interviewed many Bulgarian women in the late 1990s, said that most of them preferred not to distinguish their problems from those of men^[22]Ghodsee, K. R., (2004), Feminism-by-design: Emerging capitalisms, cultural feminism, and women’s nongovernmental organizations in post socialist Eastern Europe. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture … Continue reading.

These cultural differences only distanced these women from Western feminist philosophy. The inability of Western feminist organizations to engage in cultural mediation to adapt to the respective realities of women in different European countries is also a factor to be included. In 1993, Barbara Einhorn, professor of gender studies at the University of Sussex, described the aversion to Western liberal feminism in Eastern Europe as an “allergy to feminism”^[23]Osa, M., (1995), [Review of Cinderella Goes to Market: Citizenship, Gender and Women’s Movements in East Central Europe., by B. Einhorn]. Contemporary Sociology, 24(1), 19–20. … Continue reading. Between 2004 and 2007, following the socio-economic transition of the 1990s, several post-socialist Eastern European countries joined the European Union^[24]Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia joined the European Union in 2004, Bulgaria and Romania in 2007.. The organization played an important role in the effective implementation of Western model gender policies. In the context of the post-socialist transition, women in the countries of the former Eastern bloc have demonstrated a growing aversion to Western feminist associations, seemingly powerless to resolve their problems. Even today, in certain post-socialist countries, a certain feminist political and social system seems to be claimed, as in Bulgaria or the Czech Republic. But these are not government policies implemented by the government. This is built more through the associative participation of citizens or even by the demand for a freer way of life and thought and demanding equality for all^[25]Dermendjieva, N, Kutseva, G., (2016), “Fighting the Backlash against Feminism in Bulgaria”, OpenGlobalRights www.openglobalrights.org/Fighting-the-backlash-against-feminism-in-Bulgaria.     

Towards which political axis since the 2010s?

Since the 2010s, the rise of right-wing parties in Eastern Europe has given rise to a dangerous traditionalism that undermines women’s rights. Anti-gender policies have affected different areas and raise questions in several social sectors: domestic violence against women, marital equality and subjects taught at university. The most striking example is that of opposition to the ratification of the Istanbul Convention^[26]Istanbul Convention (2018), Council of Europe. … Continue reading. The Istanbul Convention is an international treaty aimed at combating violence against women and domestic violence. It was approved by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on April 7, 2011^[27]Istanbul Convention (2018), Council of Europe, … Continue reading. To date, the only European Union Member States that have not ratified the Convention are Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, and Slovakia^[28]“Il Parlamento Europeo Approva Ratifica Della Convenzione Di Istanbul.” (10 May 2023). Euronews. … Continue reading. The challenge to this convention by these states is based on their disapproval of the gender terminology on which the treaty is based. The document defines gender as “the socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for women and men”^[29]Istanbul Convention (2018), Council of Europe, … Continue reading. Johanna Nelles, one of the authors of the legislative document, explained that the question was not so much about gender as about its relationship to violence. It states that “many gender roles contribute to the perpetration of violence”^[30]De La Baume, M., (12 Apr. 2021), “How the Istanbul Convention Became a Symbol of Europe’s Cultural Wars.” POLITICO. … Continue reading. This formulation has given rise to disinformation campaigns on the use of the term “gender” and to false accusations from some governments that the convention undermines the notion of “traditional family”.

In Bulgaria, a debate took place in 2018 on the amendment of the Istanbul Convention^[31]Norocel, O. C., David Paternotte, D., (2023) The Dis/Articulation of Anti-Gender Politics in Eastern Europe: Introduction, Problems of Post-Communism, 70:2, 123-129. 10.1080/10758216.2023.2176075. Bulgarian nationalists were particularly angered by the mention^[32]Krizsán, A., Roggeband, C., (2021), Politicizing Gender and Democracy in the Context of the Istanbul Convention. Palgrave Macmillan of the term “gender” in the legislative document as a social construct as opposed to biological “sex”. The explanatory report of the Convention specifies that the term “gender” is not intended to replace the terms “women” and “men”^[33]Norocel, O. C., David Paternotte, D., (2023) The Dis/Articulation of Anti-Gender Politics in Eastern Europe: Introduction, Problems of Post-Communism, 70:2, 123-129. 10.1080/10758216.2023.2176075. In Hungary, statements against gender equality were made by the deputy leader of the ruling FIDESZ party; the latter pretext that the Istanbul Convention introduces the obligatory definition of gender into the Hungarian legal system. He and several of his political partners have also questioned whether domestic violence is considered a form of violence against women^[34]Krizsán, A., Roggeband, C., (2019), Gendering Democratic Backsliding in Central and Eastern Europe: A Comparative Agenda, Central European University, CEU CPS Books, p. 145.

The rise of conservative parties as an issue for unifying women’s rights

The emergence and resurgence of right-wing parties, even far-right parties in certain countries, are one of the main factors in the paralysis of the development of women’s rights in many countries of the former Soviet bloc. In fact, a gap is growing more and more between Western feminist values and those of post-socialist countries. The latest policies established by regimes, such as the Croatian or Romanian one, suggest a systematization of traditionalist values. Authors claiming these values are opposed to the emergence, or even the affirmation of sexual and gender equality. More generally, this illustrates an opposition to an affirmation of women’s rights within society, and a rejection of their recognition as citizens^[35]Krizsán, A., Roggeband, C., (2019), Gendering Democratic Backsliding in Central and Eastern Europe: A Comparative Agenda, Central European University, CEU CPS Books, p. 145.

The comments contained in this article are those of the author alone.

To cite this article: Ricci Elena. (2023). Anti-gender policies in post-socialist European countries 1/2. Gender in Geopolitics Institute. https://igg-geo.org/?p=18175&lang=en