-- snip --
>The authors paint a bleak picture of the lives of women across the
>region, even in those central European states such as Slovenia and
>Poland that have made rapid economic progress in the past decade.
>They say that in many respects, the upheavals of transition from
>communism have hit women particularly hard. Of the 26m jobs axed in
>the region since 1989, 14m have been lost by women. Standards of
That is true, but female unemployment is only part of the story. The 'reformers' questioned the women's right to work as a 'communist relict' and advoctaed domestic work instead - with the blessing of organized religion. On the top of it, the emerging 'entrepreneour' adopted the most sexist aspects of capitalist cultures as epitomes of 'market cultures.' Employment ads like "Wanted - an attractive female secretary under 25 years of age" are quite common and nobody even raises a stink about them.
Massive unemployment amog women also contributed to the spread of forced sex labor in Western Europe and Israel - i.e. young women being lured with the promise of work abroad and then they are forced to do sex work.
>
>"In many countries, fertility is now at extremely low levels in
>absolute terms, and if this trend continues, it will have significant
>social and economic repercussions. It may also reflect the heavy
>price women and families have paid as they try to support their
>children despite the economic hardships of the transition." The
>report argues that in communist times, women fared reasonably well
>with good access to education, healthcare and jobs. But the
>paternalistic communist state failed to change underlying attitudes
>to gender equality.
That is a moot point. I think that 'communism' (i.e. central planning) was the best thing that happened in that part of the world since the beginning of history, and that is certainly true in undercutting patriarchy. I think that EE had propbably the most progressive gender laws in that time - guarnateed access to employment, eductaion, health care, child care, state-enforced child support, rape shield laws etc. On the other hand, many of these laws existed only on paper, and were seldom enforced, and the 'tradtional morality' prevailed, especially in small towns and rural areas.
Moreover, any attempts to give women more power in the area where it really mattered - the workplace - were met with stiff resistance from state authorities. So women empowerment seemed to follow the general EE pattern: good plans, poor execution.
Some feminists also argued that extending the maternity benefits (including generous maternity leaves) and child care to women but not to men in fact reinforced patriarchal stereotypes. Well, mebbe - but those benefits also allowed women to work full time, and there is nothing that helps womens' rights more than employment and economic power it gives.
>
>After 1989, women suffered, notably with the weakening of the
>communist child care networks. At the same time, rising crime has hit
>everyone while new-found freedoms have created other problems, such
>as a rapid increase in smoking and alcohol consumption among young
>women.
Bullshit. It is the price. The good ol'commies kept the price of booze high relative to other goodies to regulate consumption. After the 'reform,' prices of other goodies went up through the roof to equal those in Western Europe, but the price of booze did not quite keep up with that trend - so now it is relatively lower in relation to other goodies.
>
>Reports of domestic violence have also multiplied, say the authors.
Very true. But reporting also increased.
>In Moscow, more than one third of divorced women had been beaten by
>their husbands. The report says domestic violence is not prohibited
>by law in Armenia, Croatia or Georgia. Croatia and Ukraine are among
>seven countries that do not recognise marital rape as a crime. In
>Slovenia, economically the most advanced post-communist country,
>domestic violence is not considered criminal in cases of "light"
>injury, which includes "fractured nose, rib, light contusions and
>pushed-out teeth".
Well, welcome to the new brave world of EE capitalism cum religion. But it does not surprise me at all - most 'velvet revolutionaries' i met in my 'previous life' were textbook examples of male chauvinistic pigs.
wojtek