Political violence against women is important to understand as part of law enforcement and the achievement of gender-fair democracy. United Nation in “Violence against women in politics” (2014) defines violence against women in politics as violence that occurs in the political sphere, which specifically targets women. Violence is used to strengthen traditional, social, and political structures by targeting female leaders who oppose patriarchy and prevailing social expectations and norms.
Such violence against women limits women's mobility and capacity to participate in politics, which is very likely to result in physical, sexual, or psychological misery or suffering for women politicians. Coercion, as well as arbitrary deprivation of freedom in the public or private life of women politicians, are also included in the category of violence against women in politics.
Attacks on women in the 2022 Korean presidential election
The 2022 South Korean Presidential Election has a record of political violence against women. We can know this by referring to the hashtags #antifeminismisnotthevoiceofyouth and #wedon'tchoosemisogyny. This two hashtag are widely used by groups of female voters who are members of the Shout Out Movement in South Korea. According to Twitter, more than 5,500 posts with the hashtag were shared on January 6, from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. The protest action on social media was carried out as a form of protest a campaign that discredited the gender equality movement in South Korea.
The previous Shout Out, on December 12, 2021, held a protest in front of the offices of the Democratic Party of Korea and the People's Power Party (PPP) in Yeouido. In the protest, which was attended by about 50 women, Shout Out organizer Kim Joo-hee said that the candidates in the 2020 presidential election did not respect women as voters and citizens. Candidates from the Democrat Party and PPP denounce feminism as a mental illness and ignore female voters. Shout Out demands the candidates from both parties to stop populist politics based on antifeminism.
"We can't put male politicians who exploit hatred against women to take care of state affairs," said one demonstrator, as quoted from hani.co.kr (12/13/2021)
Candidates in the presidential election also attacked the personal lives of the wives of opposing candidates. In fact, at one event, one of the presidential candidates questioned why the other candidate did not have children and only kept animals.
Candidate from PPP, Yoon Seok-youl, former attorney general, started the debate on general equality in the presidential election campaign. He put forward a proposal to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family if elected president – the debate over whether the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family should be kept or abolished has been going on for years. Yoon took advantage of the results of a survey conducted by four Seoul-based survey institutions, namely Embrain Public, KSTAT Research, Korea Research International, and Hankook Research, in July 2021, that 48 percent of respondents supported the abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. Gender equality is considered by young men as discrimination in getting a job because women's gender takes precedence over ability.
President Moon's administration has indeed provided new opportunities for women in the economic field. This policy is widely disliked by a society that is still dominated by men. The presidential election competition for people's votes is exploited by candidates to gain majority support. The domination of men in the social structure of Korean society has become a candidate misogyny campaign that threatens the space for women's participation in the economic and political fields. Ironically again, the misogynistic tendencies of some people boosted Yoon’s electability from 34.5 percent to almost 41 percent within one week.
The absence of inclusive politics has added to the struggle of women activists to promote gender equality and women's participation in various fields. Politicians' attacks on gender equality add to the long list of attacks against women. According to South Korea’s National Human Rights Commission, “women” and “feminists” are the two most common targets for hate speech delivered on various online platforms. There was an incident where several male activists forced the university to cancel the lecture of a woman whom they accused of spreading hatred. They also criticized An San, a three-time gold medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, for her short haircut.
Based on the Global Gender Gap Index 2021 published by the World Economy Forum, South Korea is ranked 102 out of 156 countries with the highest gender inequality. The country has the highest gender pay gap among rich countries. The number of women members of parliament is less than one-fifth of the total number of members of the national parliament. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family was established in early 2001 as a campaign promise for President Kim Dae-jung. The ministry is tasked with planning gender-related policies, such as expanding women's social participation, preventing domestic and sexual violence, and protecting victims.
Although Yoon subsequently recruited a prominent feminist, Shin Ji-ye, as campaign adviser in December 2021, a move meant to allay concerns that his party had alienated female voters, Yoon's campaign and the PPP's discrediting of women's rights were seen as magnifying hatred of women who are vocal. Yoon and PPP's strategy to boost Yoon's and PPP's electability among young male voters have put the progress of gender equality at risk in South Korea.
Harassment of female political practitioners in the Philippines
The Philippines will hold elections for more than 18,000 effective positions, from city officials to president, on May 9, 2022. There are 10 presidential candidates and 9 vice-presidential candidates. Leni Robredo, the current Vice President of the Philippines, is running for the presidency. President Duterte's daughter, Sara Duterte, stepped up to the position of vice president, in coalition with presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr., son of former Philippine dictator, Ferdinand Marcos.
It is not easy to participate in the Philippine political arena. First, the patriarchal Philippine society is not friendly to women politicians or women activists. Second, the electoral system applied makes it difficult for women to be elected. The Philippines adheres to a plurality-majority electoral system with a single-candidate district. Since there is only one candidate that can be proposed by the party, the party prefers men to contest in the constituency. Third, money politics as a choice of a political strategy used by candidates do not benefit women who often do not have large economic capital. K Recent conditions, with President Duterte being misogynistic, even in January 2021, he said that women are not worthy of public office, making it more difficult for women to participate in politics.
President Duterte's insult to Vice President Leni Robredo has become a major case of attacks on women political practitioners. Not only referred to as a prostitute, Leni is also referred to as a "scatterbrain". The attack by President Duterte another attack on social media against Leni. The hashtag #FakeVP was created to insult Leni, along with the mention of scammers, liars, and idiots
Foundations for Media Alternatives, a media organization in the Philippines, reports that insults to politicians on social media are common. However, female politicians come under disproportionately online attacks and are often the target of disinformation.
The attack was also experienced by a woman journalist, the Executive Editor of the online news Rappler, Maria Ressa. Her criticism of President Duterte saw her receive an average of 90 hate messages per hour and 2000 bad comments on Facebook every day. Maria has also been repeatedly threatened with gang rape and murder since 2016. Amid a disinformation campaign that intentionally misquoted Ressa, she even received harassment and threats from both active and former members of the Philippine military.
Other women journalists who have received hate speech attacks on social media are Pia Ranada and Inday Varona. Lady Ann Salem and Frenchie Mae Cumpio are even in jail because of their investigative report.
Threats to democracy
Western history, as well as history in various Asian countries, shows that democracy and patriarchy can coexist. India, the Philippines, Indonesia, South Korea, are examples of democracies with strong patriarchy. It is not uncommon to find misogynistic expressions and behaviors that are still tolerated by society.
Ahmed T. Kuru in his book “Islam, Authoritarianism and Underdevelopment” (2020) believes that gender equality is the result of democracy, not the other way around. In other words, without democracy, it is difficult to achieve gender equality. A good democracy will provide a friendly and safe space that is equal for everyone.
Thus, violence against women in politics must be seen as a threat to democracy. Attacks targeting women in politics are a sign that social, political, and economic institutions are still dominated by non-female genders. As with the status quo of power, it is difficult to overturn a situation that has dominated women for too long. The way we make sure everyone can participate safely, that's how we maintain democracy and respect humanity. []
AMALIA SALABI
