３月８日は国際女性デー

   戦後80年の今年は、女性運動にとっても節目の年だ。１９００年代初頭に欧米各地で起きた、平等を求める権利獲得運動を称えて、国連が「３月８日国際女性デー」を提唱して50年になる。

    国連は、１９７５年を「国際婦人年」、続く10年を「国連婦人の10年」とし、あらゆる分野の女性差別の撤廃に向けて取り組むと宣言した。世界各地の女性が交流し、活動を高め合った運動は79年、国連で「女子に対するあらゆる形態の差別の撤廃に関する条約（女性差別撤廃条約）」採択となった。　

   その名の通り、政治的、経済的、社会的、文化的、市民的その他すべての分野で女性の性に基づく排除や制限、更に区別も差別にあたると定義する条約だ。各国は自国に残る差別的な制度を解消し、条約を批准した。　

日本の批准と抵抗　

     日本の批准は85年６月。批准から今年で40年。批准には父系主義から父母両系主義へ国籍法改正、高等学校の家庭科男女共修に法改正と、男女雇用平等法の制定が必要だった。　

     特に、男女雇用平等法は、働く女性たちの重要課題で、労働基準法３条に「性別」を入れること、募集・採用から定年・退職まですべての差別の禁止を求めた。　

     それはしかし、経営側からだけでなく、70年代から進められてきた「男女役割分業（男は仕事、女は妊娠、出産を機に家事・育児に専念）」を基に制度設計した税や社会保障を揺るがすことになるとして、政府側からの強い抵抗を受けた。　

      最終的に雇用平等法とは全く違う、勤労婦人福祉法改正による「雇用機会均等法」が成立。同時期に成立した国民年金三号被保険者制度、労働者派遣法とセットのように、男女差別だけでなく、女性労働者間にも分断と格差を広げた。　

多い私たちの課題　

     国際女性デー提唱から50年、女性差別撤廃条約批准から40年。日本における女性差別解消のための課題は多い。　

     今焦点の「年収の壁」は、あくまで家族単位の仕組みの中の話。女性も１人の人間として同等の権利を持つ労働者であり、生きる権利を持つ。高齢女性の貧困や、若年女性の性被害など、支援とともに自分を大事にして生きていける制度でなければならない。　

     そのために、立法府には女性が半数いて当然だ。女性差別撤廃条約の実効性を高めるための通報の道「選択議定書」の批准も急がれる。選択的夫婦別姓制度は、１人の人間を単位に考える一歩。今国会で成立させたい。

英訳版↓

No. 1393 International Women’s Day

This year commemorates the 80th year from the end of WWII. It is also an anniversary for women’s movements. It is 50th year from the United Nations’ call for ‘International Women’s Day on March 8’, celebrating the women’s movements to seek for equal rights which prevailed in various places in Europe and in the United States in early years of 1990s.

TOWARD ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN

The United Nations set forth the year 1975 as International Year of Women, and the succeeding ten-year period as International Ten Years of Women, declaring that the organization would commit in eliminating all kinds of discrimination against women in all the fields. In 1979 women’s movements attained, consequently, to the adoption in the UN General Assembly of Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), a treaty which involves in removing all kinds of gender discrimination. Up to the year women in various nations had mutually collaborated to heighten activities.

As the treaty itself says, it defines as discrimination exclusion, restriction and, in addition, distinction based on gender in the political, economic, social, cultural, civic domains and others. Many nations ratified the convention after they had removed discriminatory systems left intact in the countries.

Ratification by Japanese Government and its resistance

The Japanese government ratified the treaty in June, 1985. This year sees the 40th anniversary of the endorsement. Requested for ratification were revision in the Nationality Act, in which a change was made to a paternal-maternal equality scheme from the paternal preference, a change in the law in which a school subject of home economics must be taught to high school boys as well as girls, and legislation of Act on Equal Opportunity and Treatment between Men and Women in Employment.

In particular the equal employment law was crucial for working women, and ‘gender’ was incorporated into Article 3 of the Labor Standard Act, specifying prohibition of all forms of discrimination against women from the stage of recruitment and employment up to retirement age.

Strong resistance was, however, staged not only by the management side but also by the government, because the latter feared the existing tax systems and public services would be harmed by the new norms. It was because these schemes had been designed on the rule of division of roles between men and women (=men work, while women quit a job, engaged in housekeeping and childcare after pregnancy and birth of a baby). This was the social basis that authorities had launched since the 1970s.

Consequently, a law called Equal Employment Opportunity Act was decreed, which is totally different from an equal employment law as it was legislated after revising the Welfare Act for Working Women. Simultaneously, the National Pension System set up a Category 3 Insured Person System (a person supported by her spouse) and the Worker Dispatch Law was enacted as a combined set. Thus, new divides were produced, yielding not only gender gaps, but also rifts and disparities among working women.

Tasks are abundant

It is fifty years from the call for the International Women’s Day, and forty years from ratification of the CEDAW. Many tasks are still piled up to remove discriminatory practices against women in the country.

People pay now an attention to a phrase, ‘a barrier of annual (untaxable) income’, but this idea is based only on a family unit structure. A woman must be respected as a worker who has the equal rights and an individual who has the right to survive. Eliminating poverty among the elderly women and eradicating sexual offense against young women are vital so that a woman can enjoy her dignity with social support. Such a system must be created.

For this purpose, female lawmakers should occupy a half of the seats in the parliament. Ratification of the Optional Protocol, means of communication and investigation, is urgent in order to heighten effectiveness of the CEDAW. A law to assure freedom of selection of family name in matrimony is the first step of a concept of an independent individual as a basic unit. Expectation is high that the current Diet session could enact the law.



March 5, 2025