Although a female prime minister may seem like a win for women’s rights, Giorgia Meloni has proven otherwise. She was elected as Prime minister of Italy this past September after a long campaign where she utilized her womanhood to gain the votes of women all over Italy. However, she has proven her identity as a woman does not automatically qualify her as a feminist. The political party she represents, the ‘Brothers Of Italy’, is an incredibly conservative party, one that preaches against abortions. Women’s rights activists in Italy are happy for women representation in government, but they wish it was any other woman besides Ms. Meloni. Her agenda is causing fear among women that she will actually set them back even more, instead of helping them.
Women in Italy have struggled to emerge and be prominent in their patriarchal society. Only 1 in 4 Italian women work, there are barely any women CEOs, and less than 10 women are heads of major universities. The stark difference in men and women in the workforce is partly due to the fact that Italian child care is not affordable, all day, or even available in many regions. This causes women to have to stay home and leaves over ½ of the women in Italy financially dependent on others. Although Ms. Meloni has positioned herself as someone who understands this struggle and will help the woman in Italy, her actions have proved otherwise. A major concern of women’s rights activists is that Ms. Meloni’s concept of protecting women and their families does not correspond with women’s rights. Ms. Melonis policies make it harder to have abortions in a country where they are already very hard to get. Meloni has also advocated against Pink Quotas, a system dedicated to getting more women in high power work positions.
Many women who support Ms. Meloni admire her ability in a male-dominated government to rise to a high power position such as prime minister. However, she does not seem to want other women to get there as well. In fact, this far-right leader seems to be teaching a different lesson; not all women are feminists.
Sources:
Povoledo, Elisabetta, and Gaia Pianigiani. “Giorgia Meloni Could Be the First Woman to Lead Italy. Not All Women Are Happy.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 23 Sept. 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/23/world/europe/giorgia-meloni-italy-women.html?searchResultPosition=6.
Chotiner, Isaac. “‘I’m a Woman, I’m a Mother, I’m Christian’: How Giorgia Meloni Took Control in the Italian Election.” The New Yorker, 28 Sept. 2022, https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/im-a-woman-im-a-mother-im-christian-how-giorgia-meloni-took-control-in-the-italian-election.
Olsen, Henry. “Opinion | Fears about Italy’s Giorgia Meloni Are Overblown. but Don’t Underestimate Her.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 26 Sept. 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/26/italy-election-meloni-brothers-populist/.
