'Gut-churning': anger as Hungarian president addresses major women's rights conference
Gut-churning: anger as Hungarian president addresses major womens rights conference
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Katalin Novák, an anti-abortionist and promoter of pro-natalist policies, spoke at the opening of the Women Deliver conference in Rwanda
Weronika Strzyżyńska and Ruchi Kumar in Kigali
Wed 19 Jul 2023 07.17 EDT
Last modified on Wed 19 Jul 2023 11.29 EDT
Some leading delegates at a womens rights conference in Rwanda have expressed shock at the appearance there of the Hungarian president, an anti-abortionist criticised for an anti-equality stance. Katalin Novák, an important player in the international anti-gender movement, was invited by the Rwandan government to speak at the Women Deliver conference in Kigali this week, where reproductive rights is one of the areas under discussion. We were taken aback, said conference attendee Bruna Martinez, an activist from Brazil and member of Young Feminist Europe. We dont understand why a woman like this would be invited.
Before becoming president in 2022, Novák served as family minister in Viktor Orbáns government and was key in implementing the governments pro-natalist policies. She has said Hungarian women shouldnt compete with men or expect to earn the same amount of money. Novák has also hosted representatives of the Alliance Defending Freedom a US organisation designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and has rewarded high-profile anti-abortion activists such as Edit Frivaldszky and Ilona Keresztes. Novák, former leader of the Political Network for Values, an international organisation that works to oppose abortion and same-sex marriage, was on a state visit to Rwanda and Tanzania. To applause, she told the conferences opening ceremony on Monday: . I am the first woman president of my country. She said that increasing the fertility rate is Hungarys goal for gender equality and expressed hope that her teenage daughter will feel empowered to have even 10 children if she chooses to.
Delphine O, a French special envoy for the global Generation Equality initiative, tweeted that Novaks so-called pro-family values are at odds with what the feminists in the room stand for. Equality activist Beirne Roose-Snyder, tweeted that she was absolutely appalled that Women Deliver misunderstands the anti-gender movement so badly as to platform President Novák. Truly gut-churning normalisation of anti-rights actors.
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The opening of Women Deliver conference
an estimated 6,000 people will attend in person, and thousands more online. Photograph: Courtesy of Rwanda Government
In a statement, Women Deliver said it is in no way aligned with the views of President Novák and that the opening ceremony was led by the host nation, and therefore inviting speakers fell under its purview. Women Delivers stance on promoting gender equality and womens rights is unambiguous
We believe in the importance of policies that support equal opportunity for all genders and that challenge traditional gender roles.The presence of President Novák at the opening ceremony will not change our commitment to these values.
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https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/jul/19/gut-churning-anger-as-hungarian-president-addresses-major-womens-rights-conference
Martin68
(22,965 posts)the Rwandan government, who the organizers expected to act in good faith in accord with the philosophy of the conference.
OldBaldy1701E
(5,206 posts)But those evil people do not make it easy. They make up democratic sounding names and create bogus organizations to further goals that they keep vague so that they can fool as any of the population as they can. Research into an group is the key, but it is more than that. I used to work in a school and I always told the students that the internet is mostly crap that is trying to either glean your information or make you think a certain way. It is too easy to make a nice flashy web page and to create bogus 'credentials' to fool people into thinking the group is on their side. This is a fact of internet life. Of course, it is not as if they did not know about this person...
Martin68
(22,965 posts)with crap, scams, and propaganda, but it depends on how you use the internet and where you go on it.
OldBaldy1701E
(5,206 posts)As I said, it is too easy to make something that looks official and important on the net. TOO easy.