Male privilege is real. It is present in all areas of life: at work, school, public transport, family and of course in politics. Feminist struggles to achieve greater participation include parity, which barely succeeds in making women visible – equally – on the ballot. Although it is far from equality, it is a start: an identity politics that shows others, that encourages the possible, to exist with their own voice and action.

Female politicians agree that gender equality on the lists is not an imposition, but an opportunity to reach key positions

Evidence shows that increasing the number of women in the legislative and political sectors improves the quality of life in communities, reduces corruption and creates stronger democracies. After the 1994 Rwandan genocide, women’s representation in the legislature increased from less than 4% to more than 50% as of 2005, and is currently over 63%. At the opposite pole of development, in the United States of America, Patricia Homar shows in her studies how the degree of systemic gender inequality results in worse health outcomes for people of both sexes in the countries. This means that, on a macro level, structural sexism and machismo are universally harmful to the health of the population.

The challenge of political education for women and men

Who is at the head of the Electoral Council, reached important political positions mostly thanks to feminist movements that promote diversity and the inclusion of everyone, starting with the majority who are women. Atamaint shows how being a woman does not guarantee knowing or acting with a gender perspective. Initially agreeing to avoid parity as recommended by party owners, when forced to do so by the Electoral Disputes Tribunal, she made unfortunate statements about her fear that women were “stuffed” or “improvised”. Her actions are unfortunately the result of the brutal sexist culture of inequality that contaminates the majority: she manages to get many women to identify with this attitude and culture to the point of being the voice of injustice, the executive arm of discrimination.

The vast majority of politicians since time immemorial have been men, improvised, with little experience…

female leadership

The vast majority of politicians since time immemorial have been male, improvised, with little experience in the public sphere and even without a personal history of training, ideas or actions that led them to the positions of power they hold. They are there, because they are someone’s friend or because of the resources they bring to that someone, of course, they are also men. It is enough to look at the 8 presidential couples to notice that the vice-presidential candidates were chosen for more academic, work and activist merit than their counterparts. Of the 16 people, none have a notable history in the political organization that sponsors them. In fact, only one couple has militants from their movement chosen by the boss – because they are loyal, not very brilliant – to be known by militants and country during campaigns.

Diversity in politics is important, in the beginning the communities see that our representatives are similar to us, as time goes by the quotas are exceeded as in Rwanda, that we no longer talk about parity but about gender equality and to achieve more opportunities, the same rights, power, better democracy and life. (OR)