Women in Belarus: formally – in power, in reality – without it
Belarus ranks 36th in the world in terms of gender equality, according to the corresponding index. Experts highly appreciate the opportunities for Belarusian women to participate in the country’s economy, but concede that they have little chance in politics. At the same time, 40% of deputies in the lower house of parliament are women, this figure is higher than in many EU states. DW found out from experts whether Belarus needs gender quotas and whether Belarusian women have real power.
Even in the “female” spheres, men are in charge in Belarus
In Belarus, women make up the majority of the population – 53.8%. In terms of representation in parliament, the country leads the post-Soviet space and ranks 22nd in the world: 40% of deputies in the upper house of parliament and 28% of the lower house are women.
“The Belarusian authorities used this argument to show international partners the success that the country has achieved”, explains sociologist Elena Ogorelysheva. “But such an attractive image of Belarus is not a reflection of true democracy, since since 1996 the international community has not recognized elections in the country as legitimate. It makes no difference who the regime put in the deputy seat – that person has no independence, is not a true representative of the voters, his task is to blindly follow orders from above. In this situation, it doesn’t matter whether 40% of women in parliament or all 100%”.
According to Belstat, the most “feminine” areas of activity in the country are health (84% of employees are women), education (83.2%), finance and insurance (74.9%). However, leadership positions in these areas are often held by men, including in government. There is only one minister in Belarus – Irina Kostevich, who heads the Ministry of Labor. The most prominent women in power structures can be called the Chairman of the Council of the Republic Natalya Kochanova, Head of Belstat Inna Medvedeva, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Olga Chupris – they can be seen at meetings held by Alexander Lukashenko on key issues.
But what is important is the real, not nominal, representation of women in power, political scientist Lesya Rudnik is sure: “As practice shows, women pay much more attention to social policy. They pay attention to issues that men may not even realize it, as their position in society is more privileged.” “Furthermore, the representation of women guarantees greater involvement in discussions and, therefore, in the elaboration of decisions that reflect the interests of different social groups. Of course, if women really have a voice. “
Most judges in Belarus are women. But what do they decide?
In the history of independent Belarus, women have never been represented in senior positions in law enforcement agencies. The same applies to the direction of the courts: although in general the female judges are the majority (56%), in the STF the preponderance is already in the direction of the men (66%), and there is not a single woman in the presidium of the Supreme Federal Court. At the grassroots level, judges are most often recruited from among former secretaries and bailiffs, where men are reluctant to go – a salary of about 900-1200 rubles (358-478 euros in terms of). Further up the career ladder, those who have worked in district courts make way.
“In traditionally ‘male’ spheres, women must be twice as effective in order to be noticed and promoted,” believes Elena Ogorelysheva. leaders”.
“The system in the EU is completely different”, points out Lesya Rudnik. “At the party level, the principle of quotas is established, that is, women must be represented in political life. And later, when forming the government, we already see women from different parties in leadership positions and in the army, and in the Prosecutor’s Office, and in special services. In this case, according to the interlocutor, there is a reason for quotas. In Belarus, where formally 40% of deputies in parliament are women, a law on the prevention of domestic violence and quotas has not been adopted , adds Rudnik, will not resolve the situation.
Why women in power are beneficial to the regime
“Since it is more difficult for women to assume leadership positions, as a rule, when they achieve success, they show greater loyalty”, believes sociologist Elena Ogorelysheva. “This is a fundamental quality for the regime, so we see the renewal of the judiciary and the public prosecutor, as well as in parliament, does not resolve issues of guaranteeing legality and justice.”
Another, not the most obvious, sign of gender inequality is the low involvement of women in corruption, points out Rudnik: “In Belarus, women have much less access to power, resources, big business”.
The most high-profile criminal cases of this type, where officials appeared, were against the head of the Ministry of Health Lyudmila Reutskaya (in 2019), Senator Anna Shareiko (in 2016) and the head of the social protection fund Lyudmila Bachilo (2018). In the entire history of independent Belarus, there was only one case when the defendant was a ministerial-level official – the then head of the National Bank Tamara Vinnikova, who was arrested in 1997, but escaped the trial.
Source: DW
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