Women - men - gender. - Bibliothek der Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung

Peace, security against repeated mass rapes, which are not prosecuted.
They want their children to be able to attend school so that they can
have the opportunity to lead a life of human dignity some time. This
is an opportunity, which they do not have now. And the women in the
camps want to have a say, they want to fi nally take control of their
lives. I met terrifi c, tough and courageous women there.
You can fi nd women in every really effi cient and courageous human
rights commission. This applies to Kenya, but equally to South Africa.
The fi rst plaintiffs at the courts in Rwanda and Yugoslavia were women.
And the current High Commissioner for Human Rights is an African
woman from South Africa. That has left a deep impression on me. As
have the women, who are caring for the raped and mentally disturbed
girls and women in the hospitals in Panzi in East Africa. And the many
women, who for years in the camps in Darfur and Chad are trying to
learn to read and whose reply to the question why they are doing this
is: so that we can have a say and also work towards ensuring peace.
As far as women’s issues are concerned, China is very good in many
areas – at least in the cities. There, you fi nd women everywhere – in
fact one could even be envious of them: there are women in the industry,
at the universities, everywhere women have equal opportunities.
However, in the countryside, in the very traditional areas the picture is
different. In the highest decision-making bodies of the Party also there
are not too many women to be seen. Quite clearly, even in China,
women still have to do a lot to bring about change and to be able to
assert themselves.
The Chinese Code of Law can on the whole be said to be extremely
progressive. On paper it’s great. And there are no differences between
men and women. However, there are now decrees, which are greatly
relativising progress and in fact want to reverse it. From our perspective,
the women workers are very poorly paid – but the opportunities
they have are much better than in the countryside. There, they have
none. Till now, I have hardly observed any discussion on the exploitation
of women by Western companies, but I cannot believe that in
reality, women would be getting the same wages as the men.
FRIEDRICH-EBERT-STIFTUNG
WOMEN MEN GENDER
You have visited Darfur many
times. What is the most ardent
wish of the women there and what
are their demands?
In Africa, there are many courageous
women, who have fought for
human rights. Whom were you
particularly impressed by?
Your second priority is China. On
paper there is absolute equality in
China. What is it like in practice?
And what about equal wages?
Is the exploitation of women by
western companies an issue there?
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