Women and power

It may seem inconceivable, in the 21st century, that we have to bring this topic up for reflection by men and women regarding the inequality of living and working conditions between them. The title of this column suggests its tone.

As a woman, I cannot avoid addressing this issue. In practice, we witness veiled discrimination in the world of work every day, causing suffering to women who have fought their entire lives to receive the same recognition given to men, often without the same level of preparation they have achieved. If the struggle is complicated for heterosexual women, imagine how it is for trans women, whose situation is exacerbated by other factors throughout their lives. 

Historically, March 8th was chosen as International Women's Day. This date originated from a demonstration in 1917, carried out by nearly 90 Russian working women in the city of Petrograd, now Saint Petersburg. It was a pioneering movement fighting for the improvement of extremely precarious working and living conditions compared to the status of men's work.

What saddens us, however, is that more than a century has passed and we still encounter differences in the value placed on men's and women's work, even though we are already seeing some advances that were unthinkable a hundred years ago. France, for example, has just incorporated women's right to abortion into its Constitution, becoming the first Western democracy to guarantee this right in its constitution. The issue of morality in countries with nascent democracies, such as Brazil, still serves as a banner for politicians, opportunistically conservative, who hinder the progress of women's rights. They disregard the fact that abortion is primarily a public health problem and not a matter of moralism. 

In the week leading up to International Women's Day, media outlets are taking the opportunity to highlight several initiatives that demonstrate progress towards equal working conditions for men and women. 

Brazilian Law No. 14.611 of July 4, 2023, known as the equal pay law, for example, constitutes one of these improvements. However, advancements are commonly observed, especially during periods of progressive governments. 

It is worth noting, however, that even though these rights are enshrined in the entrenched clauses of the country's Federal Constitution, regulation through specific laws materially imposes the obligation of compliance by employers. 

However, despite this good news, we still have a long way to go in various aspects of women's work and lives. 

As a woman, in a society still strongly imbued with patriarchal values, we have to endure prejudiced attitudes even from other women who, for many reasons, succumb to sexist values. Women who lacked opportunities, who were stifled their entire lives, others who, in despair, gave up fighting. They wander alongside their abusers, both physically and in a pseudo-moral sense, like dependent zombies. I don't blame them. It's a fact that those who are complacent are still in this condition; I can only feel pity for them. I prefer to think that difficult and almost insurmountable circumstances led them to this unhealthy submission. 

I confess that, even as part of a segment of women with a solidly critical and conscious education, I still feel the effects of historical discrimination, such as being identified as the "weaker sex." 

Maintaining a healthy balance in a life-sharing relationship within the various social contexts between women and men is still complex, but I see how possible it is when both partners practice consciously and without subjugation. 

What is most worrying is that we are still living in dark times, and if these discriminations happen to white heterosexual women like me, or to black heterosexual women, historically inferiorized because of their phenotype, imagine what happens to other ways of presenting the feminine, such as trans women, lesbian women, in their courageous choices of being in the world. These women suffer daily, even with their own lives, for having dared to live and express themselves in the world as they identify themselves. 

We are, therefore, far from being the weaker sex. like an absurd lie Spoken by the poet and songwriter Erasmo Carlos. The purpose of this column is to provoke struggle, both by women and men, in the structural construction of a society free from prejudice of all kinds. May we all be powerful, without ever losing our tenderness!!!! August 8, 2024.