2006 Feminist Initiative Election Manifesto

Election year 2006. A Feminist Initiative in politics is needed

• because women on average have 4,300 Swedish kronor less than the men in their wallets every month, in spite of the fact that women work just as much as men
• because 46 percent of all women at some point in their lives have suffered physical or sexual violence, or threats of violence by a man and because many women are still afraid of being attacked and raped when they walk the streets at night
• because women take 81 percent of the parental leave, which reinforces both the subordination of women in work life and men’s insufficient responsibility for the home and children
• because single mothers constitute the only family constellation that during more than a decade has continued to live under increasingly poorer conditions
• because immigrant women are given the jobs with the most insecure work conditions
• because hate crimes against homosexual, bisexual and transgendered persons are increasing
• because men’s salaries constitute the norm when homes and housings are built.

It is about time that thirty years of gender equality politics start showing results in the lives of women! It is time for a feminist initiative in politics. We place the feminist issues at the very top of the agenda. In Feminist Initiative nobody complains when equality discussions are raised, and nobody exclaims that other things are more important. This is why we can make a difference in politics.

Feminist Initiative’s policies are built on the understanding that in spite of women’s diversity and different experiences, financial circumstances as well as our different sexual preferences and skin colour/ethnic heritage, all women share the fact that we are faced with structures that make our conditions and possibilities worse, solely because we are women. In order to reach true equality the gender power structure between men and women has to be broken.

Women need to get more power and men have to take a step back.

Work and leisure, home and public life, the various stages in life—all parts of our lives are connected. This is also valid for politics. The dominance of men and the patriarchal power relations will therefore not be broken through one single act. This is why Feminist Initiative analyses all areas of politics from women’s perspective and experience and places our political demands on this ground. We will ensure that feminist policies are taken seriously in the Swedish parliament.

Women’s salaries have to be raised!

In order to equalise unjust salaries, a national work evaluation has to be done. We cannot accept a gap of more than four thousand Swedish kronor, which exist for example between the salary of a nurse and a mechanic. Everybody must have the possibility to have full-time employment. Part-time unemployment among women must be reduced and the workday needs to be shortened.

Men’s violence has to cease!

Safety and freedom from violence is a basic fundamental right. The state and municipalities have to take responsibility for counteracting men’s violence and for protecting and assisting women and children who are exposed to it. A new concept of safety has to be formulated internationally which focuses on people’s safety and not on the safety of states.

Parental allowance has to be individualized!

It is time for men to fully assume their parental responsibility. All parents need to take responsibility for both loving and taking care of their children. An individualised parental allowance is a first step towards a more just work distribution in both work life and at home.

A world free from discrimination must be the foundation!

Our feminist analysis is based upon a conviction of democratic principles and equality for all human beings. Our vision is a world free from discrimination. To include other power relations based on ethnicity, sexual preferences, functional impediments and class and to see how they act together with the gender power structure is a central part of Feminist Initiative’s policies.

Civil-, urban and domestic planning should lean on and be extracted out of women needs and conditions!

Women have equal rights to public space and to financial, social, and physical safety/security as men. This includes their homes, their workplaces, and public life. Society has to be organised and built in order to facilitate all parts of life. Housing at reasonable costs and community service within reasonable distances are two fundamental conditions for this.

---

Election Platform of the Feminist Initiative for the Elections to the European Parliament 2009

A Feminist Politics for the European Union

Political Platform for a Feminist Initiative

2006 Feminist Initiative Election Manifesto

info@feministisktinitiativ.se