Table of Contents
Recommendation
When autocrats strategize to suppress free societies, women suffer. Suffragism for women is 100 years old, and yet they have to keep fighting for equality, even in democracies. As Erica Chenoweth and Zoe Marks report for Foreign Affairs, authoritarian movements worldwide are threatening many of women’s hard-won advances. For progress in women’s rights to continue, women must be on the front lines, pursuing diversified tactics and providing power in numbers while moderating conflicts and coercing opponents to defect. A multinational coalition to combat regressive policies would enshrine diversity, inclusivity and equal rights for women and for all people.
Take-Aways
- Authoritarianism is misogynistic.
- Mass movements that benefit from the participation of women are more likely to succeed.
- Authoritarians use propaganda and policy changes to disempower women.
Summary
Authoritarianism is misogynistic.
In recent years, authoritarianism has been on the rise. Democracy and women’s suffrage have traditionally gone hand-in-hand, as governments in progressive states are more likely to acquiesce to women’s demands for equality. But in the 21st century, some nations – including China, North Korea and Afghanistan – have experienced a “patriarchal backlash” against women’s rights. Disturbingly, this backlash has surfaced in democratic countries as well.
“Even the United States has experienced a slowdown in progress toward gender equity and a rollback of reproductive rights, which had been improving since the 1970s.”
Former and current world leaders – such as Vladimir Putin, Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro and Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines – all project “hypermasculinity,” an image that strives to be performatively masculine. Other misogynist male leaders complain that men and boys are the ones who struggle against discrimination, not women. Often, they co-opt women into this narrative, emphasizing that women should strive only to maintain and live out traditional roles as wives and mothers.
Mass movements that benefit from the participation of women are more likely to succeed.
Democracy cannot succeed without empowered women, who have proven integral to mass movements across the world. Usually, their protests against authoritarianism are nonviolent and undertaken through negotiation and consensus building. These tactics ensure longer-term democratic transformation. A successful mass movement to overthrow tyranny cannot exclude half the population.
“Misogyny and authoritarianism are not just common comorbidities but mutually reinforcing ills.”
Women have contributed to successful mass movements by providing power in numbers, diversifying tactics, fortifying discipline that reduces the likelihood of spontaneous violence, and negotiating or coercing opponents to defect to their side.
Authoritarians use propaganda and policy changes to disempower women.
Autocrats have a playbook they follow to disempower women by reversing progressive policies. For example, Egypt and Russia, where women are only scantly represented in the government, restrict access to abortion. Even in less authoritarian countries, sexist rhetoric encourages voters to support regressive policies. People who identify as LGBTQ+ suffer marginalization in government-sponsored or government-directed propaganda campaigns in, for example, Poland, Russia and China.
“Those who wish to combat the rising tide of authoritarianism will need to make promoting women’s political participation central to their work.”
History demonstrates that authoritarian tactics usually fail in the long run, but creating a bulwark against tyranny remains a priority, with women as crucial, inspirational players. A multinational coalition could harness the resources needed to educate society and support activism. The UN Commission on the Status of Women should receive more attention, and pro-democracy groups should work to “transcend class, race and sexual identity” to bring about enduring reform.
About the Authors
Erica Chenoweth is the Wallach Professor at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies at Harvard University and the Stanton Professor of the First Amendment at the Harvard Kennedy School, where Zoe Marks is a lecturer in public policy.