IF WOMEN RULED THE WORLD
Article by Anna Karamanou, MEP Published in the Greek daily newspaper TA NEA	August 12, 2003

 

 

If you came across an article entitled "If the world was governed by women…", you would probably think that feminism is on the rise again. It was in fact an article penned by a man, an eminent thinker of our times, Professor Francis Fukuyama. We repeat the title here, since we are not aware of many contemporary thinkers or political analysts who give much thought to the matter. We certainly like Fukuyama when he writes that "it could surely be expected that greater participation by women in political life would bring about a less violent world. It is true that Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and war, may have been a female role model in antiquity, but in the modern world women can play a vital role against militarism and in favour of peace".

 

It is very pleasant to see –at last!- such sentiments gaining ground among men too. More importantly, they are now being echoed in the resolutions of summit meetings. In the conclusions of the European Council at Thesaloniki, there was reference -for the first time, and on the initiative of the Greek Presidency- to the role of women and to their considerable contribution in the quest for peace and in advancing democratic values, social awareness, education, and growth. Naturally, this had been preceded by detailed planning on the part of the Foreign Minister, with the aim of highlighting and incorporating the gender dimension in foreign policy and security policy during the Council's meetings, and in the Euro-Mediterranean and Balkan Summit Meeting. The Athens Forum, on the subject of "Gender, Peace, and Foreign Policy", was also very successful.

 

Gender constitutes a very significant variable, which is unfortunately overlooked in politics. Debarring women from foreign policy is part of the overall trend of exclusion. Traditional male dominance is resisting strongly, despite the rhetoric about women's rights and equality of the sexes. This exclusion however, is not without consequences. The failure to represent the experiences, viewpoints, priorities and needs of half the world's population when making decisions, undermines the long-term viability of such decisions. Worse, male aggression is over-represented in the decision-making process, resulting in a perpetuation of the culture of violence and failure to reach solutions through dialogue and negotiation.

 

How very useful it would be, if those who hold the fate of the planet in their hands and decide on matters of peace and war would attend even one meeting of the Israeli and Palestinian women comprising the Jerusalem Link. Then, they would understand how the world might be if it was governed by women. Certainly, the question of the Middle East and the vicious circle of violence and blood would have been resolved long ago. As you probably realise, we are not thinking of warlike ladies such as Condoleezza Rice or Margaret Thatcher – they are isolated examples, serving the system of violence and coercion. We are thinking of women as a totality, as a gender; as that half of humanity that does not enjoy half the political power that it is entitled to; that is absent from decisions; that does not participate in global governance; whose voice is not heard; whose picture is not taken at summit meetings.

 

Historically, women as a group are not linked to acts of violence. Having lived for centuries in the context of private life they have developed peace-loving virtues, which if transposed to public life may well transform the culture of violence and confrontation into a culture of peace and co-operation. The difference will become apparent when the balance of the sexes that exists in nature is also brought to decision-making centres. When the peace-loving, altruistic values of women find expression in politics and in planning the future. When the men who hold power decide to share it with women. When the half becomes whole.

 

That is exactly the future prospect that inspires and motivates the modern women's movement, as expressed by the Women's Committee of the European Parliament. The vision of a balanced, safe, and demilitarised world that lives in peace and resolves any differences that arise through dialogue. The vision of global democratic governance, that will dismiss and exclude violence and war as means to resolve crises, that will allocate fairly the planet's resources and the wonders of science and technology, that will focus on quality of life, social solidarity, co-operation, protection of the environment, respect for human rights. The vision of a world that has regained unity and balance through the marriage of the values, ideas, skills and visions of both sexes that make up the human species. Wouldn't you vote for such a world?

 

Anna Karamanou is an MEP for PASOK, chairwoman of the Committee for Women's Rights and Equal Opportunities of the European Parliament.

 

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