THE WOMAN IN KOREA:By David Muñoz, UK KFA Organisation Secretary.

THE WOMAN IN KOREA:

By David Muñoz, UK KFA Organisation Secretary.

 

We all know all the inequalities that women suffer in the capitalist world, Inferiority of wages, impediment to reaching important positions, gender violence, dismissals for becoming pregnant etc.

Equality between men and women was one of the most important objetives in the history of the communist movement.

The USSR being the first country in history to publish laws favoring women.

Thanks to socialism and although the equality was not complete, women obtained a great improvement of the rights and recognition unlike in any capitalist country of the world.

Some examples were the DDR or East Germany where women were valued and appreciated, where huge steps were taken in equality, where the maternity leave was one year with all expenses covered, where the woman could have days off if their children were sick, where there was full equality in wages and great political participation.

The women of the West capitalist Germany demanded that the laws of the women of the DDR were applied in West Germany. A dream that ended with the fall of the Berlin wall.

Another example is the Socialist Afghanistan, where women could go out wearing whatever they want and studied without any problem, something completely different from today's Afghanistan where women have no rights.

But doubtless one of the best examples is in the DPRK, the only state in the world that continues building socialism under the original Juche Idea and maintaining its sovereignty and construction thanks to the Songun politics.

The history of gender equality in Korea goes back to the colonial era dominated by Japanese imperialism, before the revolution, the situation of women was a big issue in the society. Their life expectancy was not more than 38 years as a result of the hard conditions of life under colonialism, the great majority were exploited,they didnt had rights and were treated with inferiority and marginalized in the society, the majority did didn´t know to read or write. And worst of all, a large number of Koreans, the majority under the age of 20 were members of the so-called "Women of Comfort" of the Japanese imperialist forces, forced to prostitute themselves and become sex slaves of soldiers.

During the revolution and the struggle against imperialism led by President Kim Il Sung, the Korean Communists gave huge importance to the rights of women, creating the first female organization in Korea, The Anti-Japanese Women Association, this organization called women to fight for their independence and for the revolutionary struggle and they joined the Korean People's Army to fight for the liberation of the country. Comrade Kim Jong Suk is considered the heroine of the Korean female movement and heroine of the DPRK.

After the triumph of the anti-imperialist revolution in August 1945, on November 18 of the same year, the Democratic Women Union of Korea, the largest organization for the rights of women till the present day, was organized. Their objectives were the ideological education, the fight against sexism and achieve the gender equality.

The 30 of July of 1946 the first law of gender equality was created in all Korean peninsula. This law stipulated that the Korean woman has the same rights as men in all spheres of social life, the right to choose, the divorce, to be elected, to work, to study, to free marriage, to be a mother ... etc and Especially to eradicate all forms of vices that suppressed the feminine personality, to respect their human rights and to destroy all the laws against the equality of gender.

Thanks to this law, women achieved recognition and rights for the first time. And during the first democratic elections held in November 1946 in the People's Korea, women were able to vote and be voted for, they won the 13.1% of deputies to the local power, this figure was quite high for the time.

Although much remains to be improved, women currently occupy 35% of the People's Supreme Assembly of the DPRK. In South Korea there were only 16% of women in parliament.

At present equality between men and women in the DPRK has improved greatly and continues to improve day by day.

The woman is one of the main pillars of Korean socialism, without them the country could not have been built.

The rights of women are drafted in article 77 of the DPRK's constitution, which said: "Women are accorded an equal social status and rights with men. The State shall afford special protection to mothers and children by providing maternity leave, reduced working hours for mothers with many children, a wide network of maternity hospitals, nurseries and kindergardens, and other measures. The State shall provide all conditions for women to play a full role in society".

Thanks to these centers in the DPRK, where they can leave the children with all the care they need while the woman is at work. It has been greatly encouraged by eliminating the stress of child care, especially in nurseries and kindergardens as these centers are completely free of charge and the State takes care of your children while you can´t, this completely eliminates the stress and preoccupations about getting money to keep them or the fear of losing the job and worrying that they can´t keep going.

The orphans in the DPRK have the same future as other children. The state takes care of them, giving them orphanages, children's studies, secondary and university free of charge having a great future and prosperity unlike the capitalist countries where the future of your son depends on your economic resources and the one of the orphans on if they are adopted by a resourceful family.

This equality can also be seen in different laws of the country. As for example in The Socialist Labour Law of the DPRK, which says in chapter III, article 31: "The state assures women of all the conditions so that they can actively incorporate social work. As state agencies, companies and social-cooperative organizations must build nurseries, kindergardens, pediatrics houses and public service establishments and organize work brigades at home or domestic cooperatives so that those not incorporated into the labor center can work According to their wishes "

Article 37 of Chapter IV, says: "Workers receive equal pay for equal work regardless of sex, age and nationality."

As the constitution says, women not only have the same rights and position as men, but the State gives them help to make their life easier.

These benefits start from the time of pregnancy, the state is responsible for the salary and necessary provisions during the lactation period, the woman continues to receive her salary in an integrated way while she is at home. The lactation period can be extended to 150 days, during this period the State also takes care of all the expenses that the newborn needs, such as food. If a woman has more than 3 children under the age of 13, her workday is reduced while retaining her original salary.

The pregnant woman must register in the Maternity House, where they receive free medical assistance and all the help they may need, in addition to controlling pregnancy and possible problems every center where women work should have labor protection and hygiene facilities and consulting rooms.

Also with the aim of protecting the pregnancy of the woman and not running any danger, the regulations of the work in the DPRK prohibit that pregnant women and women in periods of lactation carry out work of traction, transport of heavy loads ... Works that take place in vibrant or cold environments. They also can not work at night time.

When the days of breastfeeding ends, women return to work, the state provides them free of charge the thousands of nurseries and kindergartens that are all over the country.

According to official data, in 1949 there were only 12 nurseries and 116 kindergartens. Years later in 1961 there were 7600 nurseries and 45,000 kindergartens.

The unemployment rate in the DPRK is 0% for men and women, there is no discrimination in any job for women to hold important positions.

When the revolution began the data was not good, only the 20% of the work force were women. Over the years the situation improved, between 1956 and 1964, the female labour rate increased to 49% of the population reaching the current labour rate.

According to the 1980 country data, women held 56% of agricultural work, 45% of the industrial sector, 20% in mining, 30% in the forestry sector, 15% in heavy industry, and 70% in light industry. Among professionals and technicians, women represented only 14.6% in 1963. However, in 1989, they increased to the 37% of the total. Professional and technical women increased 10.6 times their number between 1963 and 1989 compared to the 2.5 men.

The retirement age in the DPRK for women is at age 60 and it can be at 50 in the hardest jobs. When they retire, they receive a pension and all the help they may need for free.

In Korea, wages are higher in jobs that require more physical effort like in heavy industry and mining, and smaller wages in jobs that require mental effort.

In the capitalist society it is always "badly seen" in many senses that women play some sports and in many cases even ridiculize them. In the DPRK, however, women are encouraged to do sport by winning multitudes of awards every year around the world. The sub-17 Women's team of the DPRK won the FIFA U-17 World Championship on 26 October this year.

All these developments where women have achieved their equality and can achieve the same objetives as men have been thanks to socialist education. There is no school in the DPRK that separates students by sex, as is the case of capitalist countries.

The Day of Working Women and Mother's Day are national holidays in the DPRK, where women from all over the country celebrate their successes carried out by socialism in the struggle for equality, with numerous acts, concerts and Actions of women.

To this day, women in the DPRK do not suppose an inferior being or a simple object as it happened in colonial korea or as it continues to happen in the capitalist countries or in South Korea where many women are forced to abort for fear of losing their jobs and in many cases forced to prostitution to obtain resources to give their children a future.

In the DPRK the childrens walk alone on the street without the company of an adult, playing, smiling or just returning home after the school, the parents dont need to be worried about their security. Something completly different in South Korea or the rest of the capitalist countries. South Korea is the country with the highest rate of sexual abuse of minors and women ahead of other countries like Great Britain, the United States, Germany or Japan. There were about 8.6 cases of sexual assault of minors per 100,000 inhabitants in 2008. Considering that the population under 19 in South Korea is high, it is a worrying fact.

Of course these types of aggressions are denounced and persecuted. Cases that are not reported are hardly known and do not appear in criminological statistics. So it is logical to think that the rates of sexual assault in South Korea are even higher. In addition, the sexist and cultural pre-revolutionary mentality still exists today in South Korea, women play sometimes significantly submissive roles in relation to men. Something socially inherited from the old confucianist tradition and mentality. This mentality makes many of these cases not reported and therefore neither pursued nor known. Some of the arrested criminals never stay more than 2 years in prision.

Sex slaves increased in South Korea since US occupation and the establishment of his puppet regime. In many cases they are aged women living below the poverty.

According to some researchers, the South Korean government considered it inevitable to use their wifes to satisfy the whims of thousands of US troops deployed in the country. In addition, the benefits of prostitution were of particular importance for a submerged state in poverty: South Korean sexual services and associated trade accounted for almost 25% of South Korea's total gross national product in the 1960s.

In 1962, the South Korean government declared the settlements adjacent to the US military bases. "Special tourism areas" where prostitution was a legal activity. In the same year, only about 20,000 women were officially hired as sex workers.

Currently in the sex sector in South Korea, according to the Feminist Association in South Korea, more than one million people work. According to these estimates, one in every 25 South Koreans is engaged in prostitution. According to other statistics, one in five women aged 15 to 29 at least for a time in her life worked as a prostitute.

 In the DPRK is no prostitution or those sexual abuse crimes to minors, the DPRK keep the traditional culture and growing up with the socialist mentality to create de equality between women and men and eliminate this old mentality of the Korean Culture.

 As I said before the state provides everything necessary for women so that their children can grow up and have a secure future and free education.

 One of the most important factors in socialist Korea with the ideological and cultural factor, is the creativity, where the state helps since the people are very young to be creative and help them to encourage it for each student, providing them with high quality social centres and activities to develop what they prefer and completely free of charge. Something affordable to only a small percentage in the capitalist society.

On November 17 and 18, the 7th Congress of the Democratic Women's Union of Korea was held, the change of name was approved by Socialist Women's Union of Korea.