Tamara Funiciello is a leader of the Swiss Women's Strike.Image: KEYSTONE
interview
Tamara Funiciello, National Councilor of the Socialist Party, has been campaigning for equality between men and women since the beginning of her political career. Today is a black day for them, Donald Trump was elected President of the United States. This had an impact on Swiss women. In the interview she explained why.
Donald Trump almost won the US presidential election. What went through your mind when you heard the news today?
Tamara Funicillo: I was speechless at first. To some extent I still do. it's a shame! It's just that bad. Donald Trump is a convicted sex offender, a coup attempter, with neo-fascist tendencies, and people still elected him president.
Not Kamala Harris.
Yes! No one should ever tell me again that there is no such thing as sexism. This campaign blatantly demonstrates the different standards by which women and men are measured. When it came to Kamala Harris, some were quick to say that her performance in that debate was not that strong. What about Trump? He once simply played music for 40 minutes at a rally and then danced to the music. The level we are at now is unbelievable.
However, it turns out that many women also voted for Donald Trump.
We now know that being a woman is not the same as being a feminist. Just like being a man is not the same as being a man who supports a misogynist system.
What does Trump's election mean for the world?
That's Trump's problem. Anything can happen to him. The boy gets a nuclear bomb. One thing is clear: The situation for minorities in the United States and around the world will worsen dramatically.
To people
Tamara Funiciello is co-chair of SP Women Switzerland. She chaired Swiss Juso for three years until 2019 when she was elected to the National Assembly of the canton of Bern. She describes herself as a “feminist from head to toe and a socialist from body to soul.” In 2019, she became the face of the Women's Strike and has participated every year since.
Her commitment to a revised criminal code is considered to be Funicello's longest and toughest fight for a political cause to date. She initially called for a “yes means yes” solution to consent, which would mean sex would only be unpenalized if everyone involved consented. Ultimately, the paradoxical solution of “no means no” emerges. As Funiciello says, she still succeeded.
What does this election mean for women?
Women will die because of this choice. Women have died because of Trump. He overturned abortion rights. He publicly admitted on the eve of this election that he was considering banning women's access to contraceptives, such as birth control pills. He ordered the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Afghan women can't even talk to each other because of him. Women’s rights are human rights!
Do you think the outcome of this election will also affect Swiss politics?
anyway. When Trump first took office in 2016, the impact was already clear. Increased polarization. The mood turned cruel. The unspeakable suddenly became talkable again. We must not think that what happens in the United States has nothing to do with us. We have people in Congress like Andreas Grana who openly celebrated Trump’s victory and who share the same misogynistic ideology. We cannot accept this. We have to fight this. Today we can mourn. We will fight again tomorrow.
How will you fight this battle?
Fortunately, in Switzerland we have many opportunities to resist inhumane politics. We have the ballot, we have state and municipal elections, we can take to the streets. I'll be doing the latter on November 23rd. Then came the protests against violence against women. The election of Donald Trump will certainly be an issue there as well. This US election demonstrates what we lose when we stop fighting for women’s rights because we think we’ve achieved our goals.
Meanwhile, Albert Rösti, who last week publicly admitted he wanted Donald Trump to be president of the United States, serves as a member of the Swiss Federal Council.
Yes, this statement by Rosti is indicative of the massive shift to the right that we are making in Switzerland. I don’t understand how he can support a man with neo-fascist tendencies who wants to further restrict women’s rights. Rusty might contradict me and say that when he said he wanted “more Trump,” that’s not what he meant. But what did he mean then? If someone like Trump were elected, we'd get the whole package. Misogynistic politics ensue. There is no way the Swiss Federal Council would support such a thing.
So do you expect the Federal Council to take a clear position on the United States in the next four years?
Yes, I want the Federal Council to actively promote women's rights, human rights, peace, the rule of law and democracy. I hope he will.
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