The gender agenda in Venezuela

While the number of women in parliamentary positions is still not reflective of gender equality, there have been significant and, in some cases, radical improvements in the lives of ordinary women in Venezuela.

IN 2006 the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, declared that the state would pay female heads of household 380,000 Venezuelan Bolivares per month for domestic work. And, at the 2009 World Social Forum in Brazil Chavez boldly announced that he is a feminist.

Nandi Mgijima

For many years Venezuela had a tendency for strongmen (caudillos) to dominate politics. The caudillo tendency has its origin in the fact that the class that ruled most of Latin America had no links with the masses but was from white Spanish stock and looked to the USA for second homes and safe investments. This class therefore had to depend on 'strong' individuals to defend their interests. These individuals were often close to the military and notable for their machismo. Chavez fits the bill of the caudillo - a former soldier and a charismatic man. Yet his politics are anti-USA and he experiments with new forms of democracy. And he carries out a very feminist agenda. How do we explain this contradiction?

Past struggles of Venezuelan women

Venezuela has a long history of struggles for women's rights but, prior to the period immediately preceding Chavez's electoral victory in 1998, these struggles were confined to the politics of Venezuela's elite.

For decades Venezuelan women were severely restricted by law. Until the early 1980s, married women were not allowed to work, own property and sign official documents without the approval of their spouses. In this period up to 70% of Venezuelans living in poverty were women.

In 1967, the United Nations issued the Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and, later, it declared 1974 International Women's Year. These developments allowed feminist movements in Venezuela to put women's issues in the public domain and pressurise the government to draft policies to promote women's rights, and gave birth to several women's organisations, such as Circulos Femininos Populares.

The emergence of an active women's movement in the early 1970s and the oil boom led to the then President Carlos Andres Perez allocating funds for a state agency for women in 1974 - the Comision Feminina Asesora de la Presidencia (COFEAPRE). Although COFEAPRE was never given the status of a regular ministry, it did provide a space to promote women's issues within the government and the elite. With a growing economy, women were called upon to fill senior posts and gained access to education and professional opportunities. Amid these developments some women activists tried however to reach out across racial lines and organised the first Venezuelan Congress of Women in 1974.

From the early 1980s, however, President Perez began to impose neoliberal policies, which led to massive cuts in social services. Funds were also cut for the Ministry for the Participation for Women in Development (which replaced COFEAPRE in 1978). For the first time women from the white middle classes began to face the same financial hardships as working-class women.

As the country became poorer the middle class could no longer afford private health care and private education. The state increased privatisation and imposed cost recovery on public services. These developments saw some women's organisations radicalised and turn towards mass work amongst working-class women. These organisations were to play an important role, alongside the social movements and indigenous people, in the victory of Chavez's Bolivarian movement in 1998.

The new Constitution

Chavez's first term in office saw the writing of a new Constitution in December 1999. The Constitution stated clearly that women are entitled to full citizenship, and it addressed discrimination, sexual harassment, and domestic violence. It recognised that housework is an economically productive activity, thus entitling housewives to a wage paid by the state.

Women's movements and indigenous movements picketed outside while the Constitutional Assembly met and their pressure brought concrete results. Their actions demonstrated the value of active and participatory democracy, which was to be enshrined in the new Constitution. New laws were passed which saw the poor given access to health, education and basic services. The new Constitution adopted an explicit non-sexist tone. Subsequent legislation saw laws dedicated to addressing sexism and intervening in what was always regarded as the private sphere - the family. These include the Law of Equal Opportunities and changing the Law Against Violence on Women and the Family into the more progressive Law for a Life Free from Violence.

These laws were combined with affirmative action measures focussing on poor and indigenous women to ensure that they receive preferential treatment when it comes to loans, housing, health and education.

New institutions for women

In honour of International Women's Day, Venezuela set up the Women's Development Bank (Banmujer) as a step towards women's economic empowerment. It was designed in consultation with poor Venezuelans in both rural and urban areas. The Bank issues micro-credit loans at low interest rates to women to help them start local projects. The Bank also provides non-financial services to women in rural communities. Banmujer offers training workshops on women's health, leadership, community organising, and the prevention of domestic violence.

The Ministry of Women's Affairs, created in 2008 as an extension of the National Institute of Women (INAMUJER), was turned into a full-fledged Ministry of Women and Gender Equality with its own budget. The Institute for Women and Family is an institution created to achieve gender equality through intervening in the family. Its central functions are to assess domestic problems and provide legal assistance where necessary.

The Mothers of the Barrio was launched to provide a monthly stipend to poor women with children who lack full-time employment. These funds are allocated according to need, and rotate so that more beneficiaries are covered.

Conclusion

While the number of women in parliamentary positions in Venezuela today is still not reflective of gender equality, there have been significant improvements in the lives of ordinary women. Women's rights have expanded to include reforms in even the most private of spheres - the family and the home. These changes are a vivid exposition of the government's stance against neoliberalism and US domination and commitment to feminism. But much of this is as a result of the women's movement itself, breaking out from elite politics and becoming a living social force of the barrios.                                       

Nandi Mgijima is involved in research and education work at the International Labour Research and Information Group (ILRIG) in South Africa.

     This article is reproduced from Workers' World News (No. 52, April 2009), which is published by ILRIG.

*Third World Resurgence No. 225, May 2009, pp 35-36