[Politics] A Constitution neither social nor democratic for women

[FNX Magokiler]

The current constitutional process has left Chile's women aside, eliminating or minimizing any principle or fundamental right that directly ensured a more dignified life for the workers and caregivers of our country. The constitutional text delivered by the commissioners, although in the opinion of many it was not perfect, was destroyed and minimized by the right last Saturday, eliminating minimum standards of a social and democratic State of law.

Originally, the draft enshrined parity as a mandate in the law and temporarily established parity in Parliament. Today, from guarantees of democratic participation for women under equal conditions, we have moved on to “promotion”, which is subject to the Government and political majority in power. A social and democratic State of law requires containing affirmative measures or mechanisms to ensure the participation of historically discriminated groups in public decision-making spaces, such as women. Democracy with women is an opportunity for the needs and interests of half of the po[CENSORED]tion to be addressed through more inclusive decisions and policies at all public and social levels. Only in this way can societies advance.

In the same sense, the progressive development of social rights has been curtailed, even removing the possibility of making them enforceable before courts of justice, as is currently possible. This subsidiary, welfare-based and minimal interpretation of the State to support people only reaffirms the right's lack of connection with the most vulnerable people in our society, such as women heads of household, the elderly, dependent people, violated children and adolescents, the cared for and caregivers, who do not want bonuses or subsidies, but rather rights and permanent support to be cared for and take care of their loved ones.

 

 

Although care, which includes the right to care and to be cared for in adequate conditions to live with dignity, had not been originally enshrined in the text, civil society organizations (Comunidad Mujer, Yo cuido and others) raised this right fundamental that mainly affects women, which was also taken up again as the constitutional basis of a social and democratic State of law by the ruling party.

However, the right sought a formula to weaken this recognition to a minimum. He established it as a promotion to reconcile family and work, which is not enough to ensure a social and democratic State of law. On the contrary, it establishes the duty of families to care, but to protect this right, social security or respect for families is not enough: What happens when families, mainly with female heads of household, do not have the means to carry out this work in decent conditions? How do we support women who leave their jobs to take care of a sick, elderly or physically or intellectually dependent person?

The right limited state support only to motherhood, a policy that has existed for years with the “Chile Crece Contigo” Program, thanks to former President Michelle Bachelet. This exclusive protection for maternity issues clearly has conservative biases and was established as a condition to reestablish the protection of the life of the unborn, with a clear intention of going backwards in matters of women's sexual and reproductive rights.

 

https://www.elmostrador.cl/noticias/opinion/columnas/2023/09/18/una-constitucion-ni-social-ni-democratica-para-las-mujeres/

Edited September 20, 2023 by [Ty]M@g0k1l3r
T/C.