Newsgroups: bit.listserv.slovak-l
Date:         Fri, 22 Jan 1993 14:42:05 EST
From:         HAMMERL@UCS.INDIANA.EDU
Subject:      Decoded text "Women Ambassadors"

Norma,

In the event that it would be useful to some of our subscribers to
have the decoded text to read, I am posting it.

Louise Hammer

******************************************************************
                        Women Ambassadors

     In addition to the lack of a "quota" for females mentioned
by George Frajkor and Laci Pook (Re: embassy Jan. 13-15), and the
personal feuds between former actors Foreign Minister Milan
Knazko and former federal ambassador to Austria Magda Vasaryova
mentioned by Owen Johnson (Re: embassy Jan. 13-15), to which Jan
Szcelepczenyi added further info (Jan 16), I'll add a comment on
why the Slovak list of 19 new ambassadors had only one woman.

     There are general sociocultural factors relevant to the
small number of female ambassadors.  Many of these factors apply
also to the small number of female Czech ambassadors.  One is the
general rise in the perceived value of domesticity for women,
even academically trained professional women of child-bearing
age.  This is obviously a response to the crisis in employment
and the kind of decreases in child support, maternity leave, etc
summarized in the reports Louise Hammer posted (Re: women Oct
29).  But there is also a psychological rejection of the former
Communist requirement for all women to work and the tokenism that
placed a few women close to power but without any real share in
it.  These conditions will change with time, because the number
of Slovak women with higher education and their own careers is
percentually high, and their "raised consciousness" will persist
and grow with the increase in feminist and women's rights groups
such as the club of women writers called Femina.

     The following philosophical factor seems truer of Slovak
women than Czech women in this century, though it was very true
of both groups of 19th century women.  My comment mainly refers
to Slovak women.  The rise (or actually the open expression) of
Slovak nationalism has had both retarding and supportive aspects,
such as the "mothering" and "inspiring" role women are supposed
to play in support of men but without direct action of their own
(e.g. Jan Kollar's Mother Slava and Mina).  On the other hand,
women were also encouraged to help the national movement as
writers and organizers of other women (e.g. the 19th-century
"poetesses," the novelists Soltesova, Vansova, etc).  Whenever
they got too active they were slapped down by some nationalists
(such as Vajansky) but they still developed a form of national
feminism that became distinctive for the non-statist Slavs.  (I
did a book on this regarding such women as "incipient feminists"
and could go on at length, but the illustration suffices because
it is really an obvious phenomenon.)  At present this concept of
national feminism is accepted by the newly-statist Slavs (such as
Slovaks, Slovenes, and Macedonians) but was rejected fervently
at an autumn meeting with Czech feminists in Prague who took the
position (traditionally internationalist) that nationalism is
always retardative for women.  I heard that the argument broke
down from theory to the level of "And why did you Slovaks vote
for Meciar?"  (This is not meant as criticism of Czech women but
as part of the generally greater Czech interest in civil rights
than national rights, national identity, etc.)  These are growing
pains, and I am convinced Slovak women will take a larger public
place quite quickly.  As in the past, Slovak men will recognize
that women are needed, and if they try to slap women down as the
national need decreases (if it does), the women will recognize
this discriminatory pattern from the past and resist it
accordingly.

     A note on Magda Vasaryova: as Jan Szelepczenyi posted, while
it was still believable that CS might not split, she said she
would not remain as ambassador for Slovakia.  Such opposition
feelings will presumably decrease with the fact of recognized
independence.

     Finally a note on Eva Mitrova, the new ambassador to the EC
(not a token assignment by any means).  She is a very impressive
scientist, an epidemiologist working with our NIH (Carleton
Gajdusek, Slovak Nobel laureate) on a rare disease, and her
results were written up in the Wall Street Journal and the
Economist for their economic implications.  She is (or was)
also president of a post-Noveember "Democratic Women's" group, as
well as a vice-president in the federal parliament.  With a very
good command of English and a lively pleasant manner, she'll
represent Slovakia and women in general very well.

     P.S. It's not surprising that so many specialists in
language and literature are ambassadors.  Abel Kral to
Switzerland is a linguist from Comenius University; Jan
Vilikovsky is an Americanist; Milan Resutik is a writer, as is
the novelist Anton Hykisch.  I believe I've heard that Jan
Stevcek, literary critic at Comenius, is going to France.