Tarja Halonen: Girls in conflict-affected countries need our special attention
President Halonen is an unwavering defender of the welfare society – and for many reasons. The measures employed by the Nordic countries to promote gender equality could also have helped countries in crisis situations. “Empowerment of women and girls also protects them in times of crises. But any shortcomings should be addressed before it’s too late. Very few countries can launch action to improve the situation of the most vulnerable people while in a crisis.”
The rain hits diagonally the window of President Tarja Halonen’s office in Hakaniemi, Helsinki, as a dark grey sky hangs over Eläintarhanlahti Bay.
The latest news coming from around the world is not good either. Civilians are ruthlessly killed in Israel, Gaza and Ukraine. Most of the earthquake victims in Afghanistan have been women and children, who have poor access to assistance because of the Taliban.
“What should prevail is common sense and humanity. When I think about those two million people trapped in Gaza, and knowing that attitudes on both sides have hardened, I can't see any easy solutions. I hope that different UN agencies can at least alleviate people’s distress,” says Tarja Halonen.
President Halonen is an unwavering defender of the welfare society – and for many reasons. The measures employed by the Nordic countries to promote gender equality could also have helped countries in crisis situations. “Empowerment of women and girls also protects them in times of crises. But any shortcomings should be addressed before it’s too late. Very few countries can launch action to improve the situation of the most vulnerable people while in a crisis.”
According to Halonen, Finland can offer to the world much more than the Finnish people themselves think. First, Halonen would advise people to shake off that Finnish modesty. “We should really celebrate our achievements in improving gender equality and in employing the tools available to us. We should also tell others about these positive achievements. We wouldn’t want to be selfish and keep them to ourselves. We want to encourage others to benefit from them, too,” says Halonen. This is the message that Halonen wants to convey when speaking at events around the world. She says that the International Gender Equality Prize (IGEP) is a good way of letting the world know about the results that have already been achieved.
One good example of such achievements is early childhood education and care. It has promoted women’s opportunities to work and helped children focus on their education. “We already know that children who have been able to participate in early childhood education and care do better at school. This is an important piece of information,” Halonen points out.
Girls are vulnerable in conflicts
It is self-evident for us in Finland that both girls and boys go to school. However, in many parts of the world, girls learn at an early age that their fathers, brothers and uncles are important people and girls must spend much of their time serving them while boys get to play or study. Inequality between girls and boys starts at home.
“When circumstances become difficult, families first compromise on girls' education, and when things get really bad, as they do in conflicts, girls are married off at a very young age. Because of this, particular attention should be paid to girls living in vulnerable conditions,” says Halonen.
Women and girls have also been vulnerable in Finland in times of conflicts, for example during the civil war. Tarja Halonen’s grandmother was a feminist from an early age. “She said that it had nothing to do with the church or the State who she shared her bed and bread with,” Halonen says. So after the bloody events of 1918, an authority somewhere decided that she was not fit to be a mother and raise her four young children and that the children should be taken into care. “This also had an impact on the next generation. My mother never talked about how spending her childhood in a children’s home affected her,” recalls Halonen.
Sexuality lies at the deepest core of our being
The sexual rights of women and minorities have been on Halonen’s agenda for decades, but why? She says that every person’s sexuality lies at the deepest core of their being. “For this reason, giving people full sexual rights means accepting humanity. That is why they are important to me. Their direct and indirect impact on people’s lives is enormous.”
However, progress on gender equality is not a given in any part of the world. Conservative parties and populist movements have managed to restrict the right to abortion and the rights of sexual minorities in countries which have been considered unproblematic in terms of gender equality.
Halonen talks about countercurrents. While the main stream takes gender equality forward, there are countercurrents in the stream that turn the development in the opposite direction. “Such currents must be taken seriously, because there are no guarantees that the next setback will be any less difficult.”
Nevertheless, Halonen thinks that we need to listen to those who oppose development and feel threatened by it. “Sometimes they are only afraid of losing their own privileges, but there can be more to it than that,” says Halonen.
UN has stayed in Afghanistan
Sometimes there are massive setbacks, or collapses, as we saw in Afghanistan after the Taliban seized power in August 2021. The fundamental rights of women and girls have been systematically revoked at a record rate. This has been seen as a form of apartheid against women. Dialogue with the international community has not convinced the Taliban to change their mindset.
Halonen points out that, despite this, we can take action. “UN Women, which is the UN entity for gender equality and women’s empowerment, along with other UN agencies have decided to stay in Afghanistan, and they operate there in very difficult conditions. It is essential to support and help these organisations in their work. We must also be able to safeguard globally the conditions for girls, women and families who have left the country.”
Text: Katri Merikallio
