Speeches

Mr President, a few years ago, in response to a journalist's question as to whether she felt discriminated against as a woman, my country's current Prime Minister responded very aptly: "Your own question clearly demonstrates how deeply rooted this discrimination is". The last couple extended by more than 36 years the time needed to eradicate gender equality during the pandemic. In other words, the pandemic has erased the hope of women of all generations not to be judged solely by their gender. In the search for a solution to overcome the still slow progress or even backsliding in gender equality in some countries, it is necessary to strictly combat the opposition of the gender to the so-called traditional family. The family that far-right politicians lead out of the concept of disciplinary religion paints a fictional picture of the modern world. Here, daddy with deep love takes care of his children and the mommy who raises them at home. In this family, there are no disasters, deaths or social tensions, no one will lose that breadwinner (it is always a man), the income is enough for all the needs of the family. Clearly, this is a cheap ideological cliché. It can be destroyed by one elementary question – which is the right traditional family: Is it where a woman left behind by her husband tries to survive alone with her children, or is it the new husband's family, where the former spouse of the woman enjoys new offspring? I have asked this question many times in my own country. I never heard the answer. In terms of how we can consolidate equality between men and women, the emphasis is on empowering women in the labour market and in power structures, balancing leisure and work, and developing public care services. This is, of course, very important. However, I believe that the time has come to change the focus on gender equality. Instead of continually emphasizing the empowerment of women, let's start by emphasizing the empowerment of men in family life. Men, just like women, are truly intellectually and emotionally capable of raising children, of participating in domestic chores and of caring for caring family members. Reality is not changed by law. There is a lot of research: Laws cannot change many customs. Reality is changed by life itself and narratives are changed. Narratives and interpretations need to be changed.

Dear President, dear colleagues, a few years ago my eighteen-year-old student and her mother were shot dead by a father blinded by jealousy. The man who chose the cruel way of solving family problems was a famous doctor, a professor, with whom I worked together on the committee of parents of the school. What causes 31% of women in Europe to be physically and sexually abused, sometimes leading to death? The main reason is the unsurpassed patriarchal conception of the family and gender stereotypes, which are increasingly repeated by the so-called traditional family apologists. Five years ago, Pope Francis issued a call to the faithful, where he made it clear that violence against women has its roots in masculine matchmaking, which must be combated. However, at least in my country, Lithuania, the Istanbul Convention is not ratified, primarily because of the indulgence of politicians in local hierarchies, who explain that the convention enshrines a stereotypical attitude at the level of the law that contrasts men and women. It is difficult to understand the content. Similar thoughts find great ground in a society where violence is often unrecognizable. Sexual violence in the family is considered to be the fulfilment of marital duties, and victims of violence are accused of causing violence by their own allegedly inappropriate actions. More education is needed to break the cycle of violence. Women who are victims of violence must be provided with help, a safe place to live, and digital platforms through which they can communicate their problems. In order to go beyond formality, these measures need to be adequately funded.