LAHORE: Politics has always been a male-dominated domain globally. As a result, international affairs are shaped accordingly, said Annika Ben David, Sweden’s ambassador-at-large for human rights, democracy and rule of law.

She adds that this is the reason certain situations arise, for example, sexual violence against women in war and conflict zones and the fact that these have not been described as crimes against humanity. In this backdrop, it was a relief to adopt measures that involved more women.

Ms Annika is determined to see that she spreads the message across countries, including Pakistan. She expressed happiness over being associated with a country where women have been enjoying gender equity for decades. In various global rankings, Sweden has repeatedly topped, from the European Institute for Gender Equality’s in the EU to the World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap.

“Sweden is the pioneer when it comes to gender equality,” she claims. “In that sense, the word feminist is just a label. Maximum number of women is included in every aspect of our governance and rule of law. Foreign policy is part of this too.”

She went on to say that it was not only legal to involve women in the economy of the country, it was also smart. “We cannot afford not involving them. We cannot afford not giving them equal opportunities; we certainly cannot afford not schooling them. It is all about the rights and representation of a gender, but it’s also about strengthening the economy.”

The ambassador-at-large says that empirical evidence in the form of academic studies has suggested that the more women are involved in foreign policy, in talks with foreign countries, the better the results.

“It has been indicated to us that women end up with more peaceful negotiations, and can maintain this situation. Under women, human rights have remained more respected and things have been more productive.”

This may be because women bring different perspectives to the table. And this is why Sweden also proclaims that it has elected a “feminist government”.

“It’s a deepened emphasis on the word feminist and also a label, because internally we don’t need labels: Sweden has had a culture of gender equity for a very long time now. We spearheaded gender equality a century ago,” says Ms Annika.

Regarding parental leave – 18 months, both parents must share the duration between them with the father taking four months off. By law, parental leave also comes with 80 per cent paid salary so that the parents – particularly mothers – do not suffer from economic issues.

On her country’s foreign policy, Ms Annika says that research shows that inclusive peace processes pave the way for a greater number of possible solutions that eventually become more sustainable.

“The world would be a better place if there was gender equality - it would certainly be a better place to live in for half of the world’s population - 3.5 billion people,” she stresses. “It’s not just a women’s issue. It has a positive impact on economic growth, health, education, welfare and food security, and ultimately on peace and security. And today, 1.5 billion people live in fragile states and conflict zones.”

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2018

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