WUNRN
MOLDOVA - BRINGING WOMEN INTO THE
DEMOCRATIZATION PROCESS
January
12, 2010
By Denise Horn
Both the blight and the profits of human trafficking in
Trafficking represents more than just the selling of human bodies. It is a
painfully clear indication of a government's failure to protect its citizens,
to provide basic necessities, and to insure civil rights.
But it is
Responsibility, But No
Power
As in many post-Soviet states, the role of women in
Indeed, the International Fund for Agricultural Development reports that the
majority of those unemployed -- a whopping 68 percent -- are women. Those who
do have employment continue to work in lower-paying jobs and represent an
insignificant number of decision-makers in the economic and political spheres.
Yet women are more likely to carry the burden of providing for their families.
Thus, women are often placed in the contradictory position of being the family
breadwinner --either for a lower salary than men in
Some official estimates report that between 200,000 and 400,000 Moldovans have
been trafficked since the collapse of the Soviet Union, which includes men
trafficked for labor as well as women trafficked for labor and sex work.
Unofficial estimates put this figure much higher, while the UN's "2009
Trafficking in Persons Report" estimates that 25,000 Moldovans were
trafficked in 2008 alone.
Yet women do not possess power within society to change these conditions for
themselves and their families. Nor do they have the power to change conditions
within society for the benefit of all. Through the seemingly empowering act of
emigration, many women are made victims of traffickers and abusive employment
practices abroad, yet they receive little or no protection from the Moldovan
government or society.
Although the Moldovan government has paid lip service to the empowerment of
women through the establishment of such bodies as the Commission for Equality
between Women and Men, women's real political empowerment has not improved
much. Surprisingly, the government has no means of tracking changes in
attitudes or gauging women's political and economic participation.
Increasing women's participation in civil society is crucial to improving
women's roles in
Bolstering Civil Society
To that end, the international community -- including the European Union and
the
Further, the international community has made an explicit link between the
strength of democracy and a state's ability to protect its citizens from the
abuses of trafficking. The UN's Protocol on Trafficking, which went into force
in 2003, provides states with tools and model laws to help stem the tide of
trafficking. The success of the protocol lies in the strength of ties between
NGOs and law enforcement, thus implicitly linking civil society, democracy, and
the protection of a state's citizens.
But the solutions are not clear-cut. While the process of democratization requires
consideration of women's rights if the endeavor is to succeed, arguing for
women's rights in the face of a government more concerned with preserving its
tenuous grip on power often meets strong resistance.
If the Chisinau protests in 2009 and the newly elected non-Communist government
are any indication, however, civil society may indeed be strengthening. Those
of us watching Moldovan politics were encouraged by the massive protests
seemingly spurred by university students and technologies like Twitter.
At the same time, the global economic crisis means there is no end in sight for
But there is much that can be done domestically and internationally if
Denise Horn is an assistant
professor of international affairs and political science at
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