Reykjavík Grapevine - 19.06.2009, Blaðsíða 34

Read this:
June 19th is an important date in the history of Icelandic
women's struggle for gender equality. Esquire explains why. 22
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 8 — 2009
Girls Just Wanna Have RIGHTS
The history, struggle and importance of Icelandic women.
June 19, 1915. Icelandic women had
struggled for years, pleading their case
for suffrage, pleading their case for
some semblance of equality. Two years
after the bill was put forth by Alþingi
it was finally ratified by the Danish
King. Women in Iceland had the right
to vote – well kind of. Widowed and
married women had been allowed to
vote since the early 1900s, mainly due
to the fact that a lack of a man in the
cases of landowning women made
them sort of ‘social men’ in terms of
their role.
From Saga to Suffrage
Frigg – Old Norse Goddess and wife
of Óðinn – is often considered by
historians to be a divine and noble
woman, an upholder of peace and
high moral code; a strong female
character and role model for young
Icelandic women to look up to. Then
the powers that be went and deemed
her the patron of marriage and
childbirth. These are, of course, two
important facets of any civilization
– couples must shack up and babies
must be made – but you’d think
such a strong woman could be made
patron of something considerably less
gender-specific.
Despite the big man’s first lady being
a representation of roles that would
see women barefoot and pregnant (or
maybe because of it), the women of
Iceland wanted more for themselves -
change, rights, and of course a leader.
Approached by the International
Woman Suffrage Alliance in 1904,
Bríet Bjarnhéðinsdóttir was declared
the perfect candidate for such a role.
Being a widow, she was financially
independent, her own woman, a
cracking speaker - f luent in English
and Danish - and, rather importantly,
the owner of popular woman’s mag
Kvennablaðið – picture the credentials
of an early twentieth century Oprah
Winfrey, if you will. She had the power
to speak out, and the advantage of
reaching women all across the island,
proclaiming that the cornerstone for
all women’s rights stems from their
eligibility in politics.
After spearheading the collection
of over 11.000 women’s signatures
– nearly the same amount of legal
male voters – the national press still
expressed their distrust in women’s
suffrage. Newspaper Þjóðólfur
labelled Icelandic women as being
‘outstandingly ignorant and apathetic
about all public affairs;’ declaring that
‘if a woman takes a strong interest
in politics, it is practically always the
case that a man closely related to her,
husband, father, brother or sweetheart,
has passed on his view to her.’
Up against a barrage of scepticism,
the women of Iceland persisted in
pushing for their right of suffrage
within the Alþingi, finally succeeding
on June 15, 1915, when the Danish
King Christian X signed the bill
allowing Icelandic women 40 years
and older the vote. This was only the
beginning.
We’ve come a long way, sister!
Women’s issues are not just for women
and equality of the sexes is a necessary
component of a strong and successful
society. A lot has happened over
the course of the last 94 years – the
voyage from suffrage to the election
of Europe’s first openly lesbian prime
minister was by no means a short one.
The following are some important
milestones in Icelandic women’s
struggle for gender equality:
*During the 1970 trade union May
Day parade in Iceland, a gigantic
female effigy brandishing the
words: ‘A Human Being – Not a
Commodity,’ caused a sensation
amongst the parade attendees. It
turned out to be the work of the
Rauðsokkur (“the Red Stocking
movement”), otherwise known as
the Icelandic Women’s Liberation.
The movement called for an
open debate on the oppression
of women and discussion of
the issues concerning equality.
Red Stockings also campaigned
against beauty pageants, drawing
attention to the issue of women as
a marketing commodity.
*October 24, 1975, 90% of Icelandic
women commenced a large-scale
strike – raising the question on
unsatisfactory pay and bigoted
prejudice inside and outside the
work place. The men of Iceland
were not amused. Shutting down
schools, factories, markets and
even, shock horror, having to cook
their own dinner!
*In 1976, the Ministry of Social
Affairs and Social Security
published the ‘Act on Equal Status
and Equal Rights of Women and
Men’, aiming to establish and
maintain equal status and equal
opportunities for both women and
men, promoting gender equality
in modern society, and developing
personal enterprises and skills
irrespective of gender. However,
statistics reveal that Icelandic
women still earn on average only
64.15% of men’s overall wages.
*Vigdís Finnbogadóttir was
elected president of Iceland in
1980, making her the world’s first
female democratically elected
president. The single mother
received 33.6 percent of the
national vote, beating three other
male opponents. Vigdís gracefully
retired in 1996 as a popular
promoter and cultural ambassador
of Iceland.
*December 2008, Audur Capital
founders Halla Tómasdóttir and
Kristin Petursdóttir collaborated
with singer Björk to set up an
ecologically sound investment fund
to help recover the fallen economy,
bringing female values into a male
dominated realm of wealth and
private equity. Halla quite rightly
stated that women have a big role
to play which goes back to our
Viking era – while men were out
there pillaging, the women were
back at home running the show.
*Sunday, February 1st 2009,
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir was
appointed as Iceland’s current
Prime Minister. She is noted as
being the world’s first openly gay
head of state. Her victory is seen
as not only a return to left-wing
policies but also a sign that women
are taking a stronger role in
running the country. Time online
claimed that more women than
ever returned to parliament, and
that Iceland’s ancient assembly
was now fourth in the world in
terms of female participation.
Ladies we applaud you.
- JONATHAN BAkER ESq
Article
Licensing and
registration of travel-
related services
The Icelandic Tourist Board issues licences to tour operators and travel agents,
as well as issuing registration to booking services and information centres.
Tour operators and travel agents are required to use a special logo approved
by the Icelandic Tourist Board on all their advertisements and on their Internet
website.
Booking services and information centres are entitled to use a Tourist
Board logo on all their material. The logos below are recognised by the
Icelandic Tourist Board.
List of licenced Tour
Operators and Travel
Agencies on:
visiticeland.com
“They put on such a
beautiful meal for us.
We had the most
amazing freshest fish I've
ever had in my life.
It was all so perfectly
cooked too...Beautiful!”
Jamie Oliver’s Diary
1. Vigdís Finnbogadóttir
2. Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir
3. Bríet Bjarnhéðinsdóttir