The cabinet reshuffle of July 6, which was completed last Sunday with the appointment of the secretaries of state, continues to draw sharp criticism from a wide range of associations, movements, and citizens, both in France and abroad. Equipop adds its voice to these reactions and emphasizes the international significance of the signal sent by the French government: the Generation Equality Forum, to be held next year in Paris, cannot be built without listening to and recognizing feminist movements.
The appointments of Gérald Darmanin to the Ministry of the Interior and Éric Dupond-Moretti to the Ministry of Justice have sparked outrage among feminist associations of all stripes and a wide range of public figures. Numerous statements have been made in the media and on social networks (Caroline De Haas, Anne Hidalgo, Rachida Dati), raising ethical, political, and social questions about these appointments.
In order to end violence against women, everyone agrees on the following analysis: first and foremost, conditions must be created that allow women to express themselves freely and, above all, to be heard. The political responsibility is to drive the momentum behind these changes. The appointment of these two ministers legitimizes positions that run counter to the desired changes and constitutes a step backward in the fight for equality, to such an extent that feminists believe that the "Great Cause of the Five-Year Term" has been buried.
Reactions to this event are not limited to French political analysts. On July 15, in Le Monde, a group of 91 feminist intellectuals and activists from 35 countries, including Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and Svetlana Alexievich, Nobel Prize winner for literature, denounced "an anti-feminist political shift, the scope of which extends far beyond France's borders. It reinforces the backlash against women, of which we are victims on every continent, in violation of our fundamental rights."
Equipop, which focuses its efforts on feminist dynamics in West Africa, France, and internationally, has also been closely monitoring French foreign policy for more than 25 years. Equipop has always taken a co-construction approach in order to promote gender equality on the diplomatic agenda. Many milestones have been reached over the years, and France has gradually demonstrated its desire for leadership in this area on the international stage. This month, the Generation Equality Forum, co-organized by France, Mexico, and UN Women, was to be held in Paris to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. Due to the health situation, the Forum will not take place until 2021, but it is still set to be the largest global gathering on gender equality in several years.
For the Forum to be a success, all parties agree that it must bring about systemic change and foster dialogue between states and civil societies. The first objective cannot be achieved if France, the host of this event, does not set an example, especially if the national political agenda is anti-feminist. Secondly, the Forum will be useless or even counterproductive if the reactions of feminists are not heard—and this goes beyond the issues of French domestic policy.
For the past year, since we learned that the Forum would be held in France, we have emphasized the importance of ensuring the participation of feminists in all their diversity. The announcement of the reshuffle now raises the risk not of inertia, but, as expressed by the 91 signatories of the Le Monde op-ed, the risk of a large-scale mobilization of feminists against the Forum: "[The reshuffle] calls for us to unite our voices and our efforts. We will not tolerate any setbacks or marginalization of our struggles. Our anger will not wane because our rights and our dignity are non-negotiable. In the face of backlash, international solidarity must intensify in all corners of the world. We are working to achieve this."
It is therefore urgent to change course. The Generation Equality Forum is a great opportunity to drive significant change: we must not miss it.
