On the afternoon of this Tuesday (28), ministers of State, 21 mayors and parliamentarians who are members of the National Front of Mayors (FNP) Bench in the National Congress met in Brasília to talk about the participation of women in spaces of power and political decision. The meeting was organized by the FNP and the Alziras Institute, a non-profit organization. At the event, women linked to politics and public management defended policies to overcome poverty and confront all forms of gender violence in Brazilian cities. The meeting was opened by deputy Lídice da Mata (PSB-BA), former president of the National Front of Mayors, who recalled achievements since the National Constituent Assembly from 1987 to 1988, with the creation of the so-called Batom Bench, composed of women parliamentarians . In addition to defending respect for the percentage of 30% of the Electoral Fund’s resources for female candidates, Lídice da Mata said that, in order to overcome poverty in Brazil, it is necessary for women to participate in politics. “Poverty in Brazil cannot be overcome without having as a center a policy of inclusion of women, who are the basis of poverty in Brazil: the poor and black women of our country.” The deputy also spoke about representation in the National Congress. “We need to be equally represented in Parliament, because there is no representation of democracy without women occupying the spaces of power. To increasingly have legislation with greater guarantee of women’s rights, as in the tax reform.” Speaking about her, the Minister of Women, Cida Gonçalves, anticipated that she will hold a march against misogyny, which starts on Thursday (30th) in Campo Grande, and will travel to other Brazilian cities until April. The minister asked female mayors to join the movement to combat discrimination against women due to prejudice against the female sex and said that it is not possible to have so much misogyny in a country the size of Brazil, which has women ministers, mayors, councilors and deputies . “To have so much hatred against women and that, many times, they shut us up. It is enough that we begin to have a voice that silences us, makes us quiet.” Cida Gonçalves also highlighted the 40 actions launched by the federal government on International Women’s Day, at the Planalto Palace, such as wage equality. “The federal government needs the support of city halls to directly guarantee women’s rights. Come to Brasilia so we can negotiate”, encouraged the minister. Minister Sonia Guajajara says that indigenous people are not enemies of mayors – Antônio Cruz/Agência Brasil In turn, Minister of Indigenous Peoples, Sonia Guajajara, presented figures on the female presence in the political environment. One of the three indigenous deputies elected to the Federal Chamber, Sonia reinforced the need for approximation between city halls and native peoples, who must be seen as citizens. “We are not enemies of city halls. This dialogue is important. Because, mistakenly, many mayors understand indigenous peoples as apart. We are counted in the municipal census. So, it is necessary to think about municipal and state public policies together.” During the meeting, the Minister of Health, Nísia Trindade, recognized that women are underrepresented in power instances in all spheres, in research institutions and in the private sector. For the minister, the fight is for representation of 50%. Nísia also defended the agenda of guidelines against discrimination and violence, as a whole, especially obstetric violence. Nísia also cited guidelines that she considers central, such as comprehensive health at all stages of a woman’s life, reproductive and sexual rights and relationships with the bodies of women and girls. “Together we can more, together we are strong”. Majority of the population “We are the majority of the population, but we are completely ‘minorized’”, said the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Marina Silva, recalling that women are more gregarious, with social technology that is easier to share the authorship of what they do. “It is necessary to share the authorship. In the patriarchal logic, everything converges for them”, she said. Marina Silva stated that her priority is to work with environmental racism. “We have to embrace new concepts to face various agendas and we want to be commonplace in companies, in government, in spaces.” The Minister of Racial Equality, Anielle Franco, highlighted the fact that black women make up only 4% of female mayors in the country and asked for their adherence to the reformulation and restructuring of the National System for the Promotion of Racial Equality (Sinapir) to improve the living conditions of the population black. Anielle called on women to fight gender violence in politics and fight for gender and racial parity. “May we have more and more women mayors, deputy mayors, governors, ministers. And, why not think, once again, of a president, a vice-president?: For that, we need to get stronger, and getting stronger means taking care of each other.” Minister of Racial Equality, Anielle Franco defends the reconstruction of the country in a feminine way – Antônio Cruz/ Agência Brasil Anielle then asked for the reconstruction of the country in a feminine, powerful way. “And to think about 50-50, which was my sister’s dream [Marielle Franco, vereadora assassinada em no Rio de Janeiro em março de 2018].” The mayor of Lauro de Freitas (BA), Moema Gramacho, amended and said: “when one goes up, it pulls the other [mulher]”. The mayor of Palmas, Cintia Ribeiro, who appeared in the media for setting up a crib for her son in the city hall office, because she would not be entitled to maternity leave when occupying an elected position, defended the approval of the Proposed Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) 158 , of 2019, which guarantees all female workers the extension of this license to 180 days. “There was no law, no security that would support me to take leave as mayor. Until a short time ago, female parliamentarians were missing on the electronic panel, because they were only entitled to sick leave. And we know that postpartum is not a disease.” Partnerships The Minister of Management and Innovation in Public Services, Esther Dweck, offered partnerships that can support city halls. “The ministry does a lot in all spheres, in all entities of the federation. And the mayors will have priority! Because that’s part of our support among us women.” Esther Dweck clarified that the ministry created the Federative Cooperation Advisory to serve the mayors who deal with the population at the end and requested the cooperation of the mayors with information for the Mãos à Obra platform, about stopped works. “If you notice that there is a work that is not there, let us know”. Esther Dweck also offered courses from the National School of Public Administration (Enap) to the mayors present to train public managers. The Minister of Culture, Margareth Menezes, highlighted the reactivation and reopening of dialogue in the cultural sector, which employs 7 million people in Brazil. “We are receiving everyone, they are welcome. And we can expand [a presença da mulher] in politics, to give a vote of confidence to the women of Brazil. We are a giant representative force, to transform policies that are more directed at us. We need to fight femicide, within democracy, with education for all.” The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Luciana Santos, emphasized the recreation of the Secretariat of Science and Technology for Social Development, saying that it is the secretariat that communicates most with city halls, so that “schools can have access to development technology 4.0, which is robotics, microelectronics, the 3D printer”. Luciana Santos also detailed the R$ 100 million public notice to encourage women to enter scientific careers and, thus, reduce inequalities in the field. “We, women, we are already 60% of the base of scientific initiation, but we can’t go to the end of the career, because it is difficult to stay, due to the barriers of cultural machismo. Our motto is ‘Research like a woman’.”
Agência Brasil
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