Mobilization of Bulgarian Women after the Fall of Communism - Essay Example

Introduction Bulgaria is par of the Southeastern Europe that has been found to be growing in terms of its economic rate, specifically on the last five years. However, based on records, this country has had series of problems regarding employment, gender difference of its populace and even on its political situation. Women in Bulgaria are treated very differently when compared to the population of men. This paper is aimed at analyzing how the country treats its women population. Specifically, this paper is aimed at: Identifying the rights and benefits that women receive when working as compared to the men labor force Analyzing the familial treatment to he women members of the family Evaluating the role of the women when it comes to politics Understanding such information will not only lead to understanding the Republic of Bulgaria as a whole, but also the country's impact to its neighboring countries. Bulgarian Women as part of the Labor Force In the past, Bulgarian Women are big assets to the country's labor force. In fact, Bulgarian women contribute higher population of work force than the males. On 1987, women work force comprise of 71.7% of the population while there were only 68.5% of from the male counterparts1. However, in the most recent years, the percentage of Bulgarian women's work force populace dropped gradually. This is because during the time that most women were part of the working population, many business establishments and/or employers have realized the broader roles that women had to play at home and at work. In Bulgaria, women have a wide range of domestic roles. Aside from the fact that they have to bear and take care of the offspring, they still have to manage all the household duties. They have to take care of the domestic needs of the husband and of the children. They have to ensure that all the things concerning household are well taken care of. Needless to say, domestic roles must come first before the women can attend to their duties as paid laborers 2. Before, because women were one of the biggest members of he working force of Bulgaria, the government have provided a number of benefits for the women, as a gratitude for their double-faceted roles in the country - being the "producer and the reproducer". This prompted for the establishment of maternity leaves in this part of Southeastern Europe. Moreover, alternative work schedules and child care were also formulated3. But because there are more women paid laborers during that time, more companies had to suffer in terms of growth and earnings. More so, it was reported that although most Bulgarian women were so keen to working, they passion to work diminishes as they started to build their own family. "women place high value on women's paid labor as a source of independence and personal fulfillment; however, it also appears that for most Czechoslovak women a home and children are of greater importance than a job"4 At the same time, in response to the global perspective of working towards a market economy, more companies have to ensure that the company's allocation of resources is handled properly and efficiently. The cal for "stabilizing and restructuring measures including price liberalization, liberalization of imports, private sector growth, macroeconomic anti-inflationary policy, and internal convertibility" was enacted. The stabilization and structural adjustment of the companies established a series of change for the women labor force. Gradually, more and more companies opted to hire male workers than females5. The implementation of "neo-liberal type of economic restructuring" in Bulgaria has affected its women populace. There were reports rendering that "the marginalization and/or exclusion of women incurred by cutbacks in state-funded services such as health care, child care, family planning, education, and sectoral restructuring with heavy reductions in bureaucracy and civil services" was experienced mostly by women6. Further research revealed that eventually, Bulgarian women who are in the labor force are only part of the secondary work force, where they hold the lower level positions. Other companies, on the other hand, who continually accepted women as paid laborers, would demand for longer working hours and not guaranteeing any social benefits7. "The system of self-government and self-financing means that the success of an enterprise directly depends on its economic results. The existing provisions automatically provide for women to be "protected" as mothers. Consequently, a situation seems to be established where a person's "free choice" (to care at home for children or to be employed) will be gender determined. We can expect this situation to worsen with an increase in the number of private enterprises. Private employers do not often feel bound by the labor code in force, considering that it applies only to the "socialist" enterprises" 8 Despite the rules and regulations of the country, noted on its Articles of Reforms, stating that mothers who are part of the working force should receive "generous maternity leave for pregnancy, childbirth and the raising of children", many are just putting this benefits on papers, without actual results. This "generous maternity leave" is in the form of having 45 days paid leaves lave prior to giving birth which can be continued until the child reaches the age of three. The leave began 45 days prior to birth and continued, if the mother so desired, until the child was three years old. Additional leaves can be taken by the father in the form of "paternity leave" although this is not usually taken by the male paid laborers9. More so, because of this written government guidelines, the types of works allowed for men and women became evidently divided. Most Bulgarian women would be found into teaching works and /or lower positions of the company, while most men are in the top-managerial positions. Categorization of job types is indeed not equally represented when it comes to gender. To sum up, in the most recent time, Bulgarian women who will still opt to be part of the country's workforce, continuously suffer from works with "lower-skill requirements than the male counter parts, intermittent/part-time employment, lower wages, poor working conditions, occupational segregation and horizontal mobility"10 . Bulgarian Women's Role in the Government Sector In the past, Bulgarian women hold at least 20% of the lower-level house of the Parliament. It should be noted that there is a significantly high membership of women to the country's political arena in response to the European countries common commitment to having a quota system with which the "Communist party determined the number of workers, farmers, and/or women to be elected to the various party and non-party committees"11. Needless to say, here is no or very limited number of women who are accepted or voted to take part in the higher seats of the Parliament. Women are not sought when it comes to 'important' decision making process where the country's economic and political aspect is at stake. All the European countries common thought when it comes to women joining the Parliament is: "Politics is too dirty for women, that women have more important things to do, that women do not generally interest themselves in political affairs, and that while, of course, women should have the opportunity to participate in politics, men must lead now because there are so many difficult and important issues to deal with"12. Bulgarian Women's Social Rights When it comes to social abuse, statistics reveal that during the early 1990s there is a significantly high rate of rape cases, all of which victimized Bulgarian women (both child and adult women were well represented). Prostitution and women trafficking was also a big societal problem, which was attributed to the fact that there are limited options for the women to find work 13. "Towards the end of 1990, the police kept a record on more than 1,000 actively prostituting women: 300 of them in Sofia, 200 in Varna, 160 in Bourgas, etc. For the time being, it could be supposed that the number of prostitutes has increased many times. The main reason for that is the hard economic situation of the country and the high growth of unemployment"14 Because of this, in the Reformation of Bulgarian laws, the country has imposed equal rights for men and women to defend themselves against the court. Like for example Bulgarian women who have been subjected to sexual assaults and/or social injustices, she can go directly to the court and file for a case against her perpetrators. She need not seek her husband's approval for that matter except on cases wherein their [husband's and wife's] common interests are at stake such as the conjugal property15. To quote: "Women have equal rights with men to enter into contracts on property or other issues, to appear before court as claimants or plaintiffs, as counsels for the defense in clients' suits or as their attorneys. The entire legislation and the judicial practice are based on the principle of equality of the sexes. In judicial practice, there are no cases of discriminatory court decisions taken to the detriment of women because of their sex. Women have equal rights with men in relation to freedom of movement and choice of residence and place of settlement"16. In as far as marital matters is concerned, it is also stated in the reformed laws that both men and women have equal rights concerning the family. Women, just like the men, can decide where to lie, how many kids to have, whether to adopt or not among other things. It is not stated in the law that women must concede or follow all the men's decision17. More so, it is also stated in the reformed guidelines that it is not the wife who is directly responsible to taking care of the family - like taking care of the kids, managing the household chores, or taking care of the sick partner. As far as the law is concerned, spouses should also do the same if the situation permits. If by any chance, the spouse failed to do that, the spouse can be charged of "breach of contract" - the contract signed during marriage rites18. It is specifically stated in the Bulgarian law that: "from the moment of entering into marriage, by virtue of the law there arises a community of property which includes subsequent acquisitions resulting from common contribution of belongings and rights over them, as well as of bank deposits (article 19, paragraph 1). There is an explicit text on the common contribution, which reads that a common contribution is considered to be not only the one expressed in investment of means and work but also the one expressed in child care and household work (article 19, paragraph 2). This provision is directed above all towards the wife and is a manifestation of the principle of equality of women with a man in marriage"19. These are all written in the laws and by laws of the Republic of Bulgaria and there are paid and/or pro-bono lawyers who will always be willing to represent the women who will feel that their rights are violated. Conclusion From the point of view of the economic and the political sector, women's rights may be well taken into consideration. However because of the number of benefits that women can attain when they opt to continue as part of the paid laborers, most companies opted not to hire the women anymore, or would rather have them positioned in the lower levels of the organizational structure. Women would be normally found as part time workers to avoid giving them the benefits of paid maternity leaves. In the government, even if it is already stated that women can represent the higher seats in the Parliamentary, the voting population still have the traditional notion that men can still decide better and act better than women when it comes to national decision making process. However, when it comes to social aspect - like in the family and societal acceptance, women's rights have already bee put to good use. Women play a detrimental role in the management and decision making of the household. Both the husband and the wife can decide regarding property ownerships and/or children's future. 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