Paroubková: Ženy do politiky nepatří - iDNES.cz
Manželka premiéra, si myslí, že ženy do politiky nepatří. Paroubková se nikdy netajila tím, že je jí blízká role ženy, která dělá zázemí svému muži, aby on mohl jít za kariérou.
Zuzana Paroubková, the wife of the Czech Prime Minister Jiří Paroubek, caused a bit of an uproar with her recent statement that women don't belong in politics ('ženy do politiky nepatří'). She expressed very traditional views about women in politics in her interview for the Czech 24 hour news network. This reflects nicely some of the views about women in politics still held by many (if probably not most) Czechs, men and women. Her reason was that women have too many other concerns in their lives and they could not be sufficiently impartial. The Prime Minister was quick to point out that he doesn't share his wife's views and thinks there should be more women in politics. He admitted, though, that he was unsuccessful in his efforts to recruit more women candidates for his Social Democrats in the upcoming general elections.
Equally interesting (from a cultural point of view) is the reaction of Czech feminists:
"Podobný výrok by asi žádná manželka politika v civilizovaných zemích Evropské unie nevypustila z úst," míní Alena Králíková, ředitelka organizace Gender Studies. "Že ženy do politiky patří, je tam stejně samozřejmé a přirozené jako dýchání. "No wife of a politician in the civilized countries of the European Union would ever utter such a thing," opines Alena Králíková, director of the Gender Studies institute. "The fact that women belong in politics, is just as natural there as breathing..."
This is very typical of Czech political discourse (but not exclusively Czech, of course). During debates on controversial issues, an imagined state of affairs in the 'West' is often brought up. This is particularly difficult in Czech feminism since it has had to import much of its conceptual background from the English-speaking world - even the name of the Gender Studies institute is in English. These images of the West are usually idealized and inaccurate, just as this statement is.
Lest I get lumped with the know-it-all Czechs abroad who berate their countrymen for being backward let me reiterate that the 'grass is always greener on the other side' attitude combined with delusions of grandeur is common to all nations. Americans think of themselves as the greatest nation on earth, yet they envy the Asian countries their education and industry, Europe their culture, and Canada their health system (in all cases very idealized version of the real state of affairs).
