Federico Reyes Heroles
“Even level playing field” is the colloquial expression. But decades have gone by, and we still haven’t achieved it. Let’s go back to the roots. Six out of ten people who do not attend school are women. The burden of domestic work and care, centered on women, is the main reason. We know them. We also know the consequences: by marginalizing themselves from education, they close themselves off from better-paying jobs. In 2015, INEGI estimated that 6.6% of women had no schooling. More than half of women aged 15 and over had only a basic education; 13.5% had incomplete secondary education. This dropout rate is dramatic in upper secondary and higher education. Thus, the vicious circle is established. They are condemned to reproduce the little they have learned.
But their situation is more complex: three out of every 10 girls stop attending school during their menstrual period. Preparing to deal with this aspect of their physical nature is not discussed. Fiscal support for sanitary pads and other items is beneficial. But it is not enough; the school itself must be a place of refuge, protection, and assistance. Many of these girls, adolescents, or young women come from homes where hygiene habits are not appropriate. Let’s face menstruation as the social reality that it is.
There is much talk about equality, but one need only look at the lines of women waiting to enter restrooms in public places, such as the Mexico City International Airport. The time estimates—30 seconds more—and conditions required by women are mandatory. The Federal Labor Law stipulates the general requirements for men and women. But NOM 001 can be improved. It is close to two-for-one. No more queues in front of the restrooms would be a very concrete step.
Another aggravating factor is early marriage. In indigenous communities, it can be horrific. More than half of pregnancies in the country are unplanned. Each year, there are around half a million births to mothers under the age of 19. The figures show that children born into unstable homes tend to slip into violence. A PRD head of government gave me the figures. And of course, if the law is enforced, conditions in rehabilitation centers can be schools for criminality. Stability in the home for child-rearing is not a “bourgeois” condition. Anyone who wants to devote part of their life to child-rearing—it must be a decision—regardless of the type of home, must accept the time this demands.
The so-called “feminization” of caregiving, which forces girls and women to leave education, has alternatives. We must invest in them, but they work. Full-time schools were an option that showed many benefits. Care for the elderly can also be professionalized. Spain has had successes in this area. Freeing women from these parallel burdens must be a function of the state if greater gender equality and economic equality are truly desired. Social assistance is a great investment. If half of Pemex’s daily losses—more than 1 billion pesos—were devoted to supporting children and the elderly, we would be on the path to true liberation for women. This is how the Scandinavian countries achieved it. The personal, professional, and social fulfillment of women in those countries is enviable. But there is more.
The transmission of values within the home, simply because of their physical presence, falls mainly on women. As a result, millions of “machos” who block women—both in the public and private sectors—reproduce what has been instilled in them. “Bring me the salt shaker…” is an expression used by a father or brother to a young woman that normalizes everything from the tone of voice—an order—to the assigned tasks.
And what about gender-based violence, which largely originates…in the home? Or femicide, with three women dying every day?
They shine on their own, so let’s let them fly.
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