March 8, 2023: ‘No Callem’
Vanessa Dolce de Faria is a Brazilian diplomat, currently Deputy Consul General of Brazil in Barcelona. The views expressed here are personal and do not represent the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This text was originally written for issue 56 of the WBO Newsletter, published on March 3, 2023. Fill in the form at the bottom of the text to access and subscribe to the WBO weekly newsletter in English.
The proximity of March 8, International Women's Day, annually invites reflection on the enormous inequalities that persist between men and women. If it is true that women suffer varying degrees of discrimination and sexist violence, which vary according to income, skin color, or place of origin of each of us, it is also true that we are united by being born with a certain sex, the “second sex” mentioned by Simone Beauvoir, who also taught that there is nothing that essentially defines us as women. There seems to be, on the other hand, a certain universality resulting from the common inequality that affects all of us, and that is why an international date, celebrated all over the world, makes so much sense. There is a famous quote by Virginia Woolf that echoes this condition: “As woman I have no country, as a woman I want no country, as a woman my country is the whole world”.
I was reminded of this phrase when following the repercussions of the recent arrest in Spain of a well-known Brazilian soccer player accused of rape. This fact led to the dissemination, in Brazil, of an administrative measure by the City of Barcelona, voluntarily adopted for leisure spaces and nightlife in the fight against harassment and sexual assault, and which was applied in the case in question. The “No Callem” protocol (both “We don’t shut up” and “We must not shut up” in Catalan) has become a reference and inspiration for several bills, in various Brazilian legislative bodies, and the object of great interest by the press and public opinion. In Barcelona, the idea was generated by a feminist organization, which suggested the adoption of reference locations, to which victims of harassment could resort during the street parties usually held in different neighborhoods of the city. The idea won an award from the city of Barcelona in 2016. Given the success of the initiative in the public space, the city decided to transplant the model to private night establishments, and hence the protocol was born in 2018. The story behind “No Callem” is interesting because it shows an achievement that was born from social mobilization, prospered with government support, and gained visibility with the participation of the private sector.
In this world where examples and struggles circulate, inspire, and make us think about our own challenges, it is sad that we reach another March 8th without having advanced in many issues related to women in Brazil. Our “No Callem” is still an initiative of women's groups only, especially “Não é não!” during Carnival, and it depends on its success through legislative initiatives.
“Women are now only 18 percent in the National Congress. At the moment, there is no woman in the leadership bodies of the Senate, and only one among the eleven leaders of the Chamber of Deputies. We are a predominantly female country, but among the diplomats who represent us around the world, women make up a mere 23 percent”
Thinking about Brazil's backwardness in these matters, it is impossible not to remember the issue of abortion. In the European Union, abortion is legal in 26 out of 27 countries (the exception being Malta). In Spain, it has been legal since 2010, and last February it was definitively considered constitutional by the country's supreme court. Thirteen years after the approval of the law, there is a solid consensus around its suitability, recognized today, even by political leaders who at the time questioned it in court. A new Spanish sexual and reproductive health law was recently approved, which expands rights related to abortion and brings innovations such as the possibility of sick leave for painful menstruation.
In Brazil, there is talk about the public health reasons that should lead to the legalization of abortion. After all, there are thousands of women who die every year for not being able to have a safe abortion, and we already know that abortion does not cease to exist because it is illegal. However, the argument of social justice should weigh more heavily, as abortion is a true thermometer of our inequality. High-income Brazilian women, mostly white, have safe abortions. Those who die are the poor, and black, precisely those who make up the majority of the Brazilian population. Even so, the topic remains taboo. Political leaders and opinion makers cowardly avoid any debate about the issue. “No Callem,” not being silent in the face of this scenario, should be an ethical imperative for all of us.
Looking again at examples that might inspire us, abortion in France was legalized almost fifty years ago. The woman who carried on that battle now rests in the Pantheon, where France pays homage to her heroes. The heroine was Simone Veil, then Minister of Health, a survivor of the Holocaust. From the center-right, she focused the debate not only on public health and social justice, but also on freedom, one of the founding values of the French Republic. The French women needed to be free to decide.
Around us, the Argentineans, Colombians and Uruguayans fortunately already have the right to an abortion, but the Brazilians still don't. Nor do we have many other important things, as it is always necessary to repeat. The main one, perhaps a fundamental condition for progress in other issues, is parity in the spaces of power. Representativeness is a question not only of demographic fairness, but of visibility. It contributes to naturalizing the female presence in spaces still dominated by men. Women are now only 18 percent in the National Congress. At the moment, there is no woman in the leadership bodies of the Senate, and only one among the eleven leaders of the Chamber of Deputies. We are a predominantly female country, but among the diplomats who represent us around the world, women make up a mere 23 percent. For the first time, more women are leading ministries in Brazil, but still eleven out of 37. If there are some reasons to celebrate this March 8th, there are far more others which require us to remain mobilized.
