Women Pols Targeted for Violence, Leaders Say

By KECIAH BAILEY

Canadian First Lady Sophie Trudeau and several female political leaders and activists from across the world joined forces at a conference Thursday to send a message that violence against politically active women strikes a blow against democracy.

“When women feel unsafe to enter politics, democracy is weakened,” Trudeau said in her address to the audience. “Whether it’s physical or psychological violence cannot be and should not be the cost of entering politics for women.”

The conference was held by the National Democratic institute (NDI) of which former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has been chairwoman for 20 years.
The NDI is a nonprofit, nongovernmental agency that works with political and civic organizations across the world to promote what they term “openness and accountability in government”, safeguard elections and promote citizen participation.

Activists say, while political violence against women is not a new phenomenon, over the last 20 years there has been a growing number of reports of aggression, coercion, threats against poitical women simply because they are women.

Albright cited the assassination of Honduran human rights activist, Berta Caceres, on March 3 as a prime and unfortunate example of violence against politically active women. Caceres was a political activist for the indigenous people of the Lenca tribe.

“Her example is a reminder we must do everything possible to end violence against women in politics,” Albright said.
During the conference, several female leaders from different countries gave personal testimony of acts of violence against them to prevent them entering the political realm.

Mimoza Kusari-Lila, mayor of Gjakova, Kosovo, said after years of receiving death threats to prevent her mayoral campaign, two men were paid to execute her once she was appointed as the first female mayor. However, one of the men, afraid to go through with the execution, turned himself in to the authorities.
Jess Philips, British Labour Party politician, said the barrage of online attacks and threats she receives daily can be very intimidating.

“I have been told I deserve to have my kids hanged, that I deserved to be raped for being a man hater simply because I am a feminist politician,” Phillips said. “As soon as you speak from a feminist perspective there are people who wish to silence you.”

Phillips said most of the attacks seem to come from American men through social media and various news articles.

Dean Peacock, executive director of a gender justice organization in South Africa, said even in the United States attacks against women in politics were played out in the way presidential candidate Donald Trump made sexist remarks in his attacks against Fox journalist Megyn Kelly and fellow presidential candidate Carly Fiorina.

Last year Trump said Carly Fiorina was not qualified because of her face and disparaged Kelly in acutely misogynist terms, saying she must have had “blood coming out of her whatever.”