We have to get rid of patriarchy - Interview with Elfriede Harth

This interview with Elfriede Harth about the Women's March was conducted by Tamara Marszalkowskis for Journal Frankfurt on 18 January 2019: The Women's March will take place again next Saturday, 19 January. We spoke to Elfriede Harth, activist and co-founder of the Care Revolution Network Rhine-Main, about the unfair distribution of care work. JOURNAL FRANKFURT: What are you taking to the streets for on Saturday?Elfriede Harth: At Women's March, we are taking to the streets because women are still being exploited. Care work, child and nursing care, housework - 80 per cent of this work is done by women. And this work is mostly unpaid. Among other things, we are in favour of a fairer distribution of this work. The welfare state is in need of reform - we need to come up with a new system of social security.What could that look like?The government would have to invest more money in public services of general interest. We see possibilities such as an unconditional basic income, coupled with part-time work, a citizens' insurance scheme to which everyone has to contribute. Care work, money and time should be distributed differently.Where do you see the problem?We live in an ageing society. There is such a shortage of staff! We are not only outsourcing childcare, but also the care of the elderly. Take a look at the caring profession. It's mainly a female profession. You earn little there, the conditions are poor, the frustration is high and you have to do hard physical labour. There is a growing awareness in society that something has to change. Why does a nurse earn less than a car mechanic?But the problems of care work don't just affect the caring profession. The gap between rich and poor is often to the detriment of women. 93 per cent of single parents in Frankfurt are women, only 7 per cent are men. Women are at risk of poverty. For example, I help my daughter look after her six-month-old twins all the time. You need four hands. Imagine if you had to do it alone.The Women's March originated in the USA. A protest march formed there on the day after Donald Trump's inauguration. Did you also take to the streets because of Trump?The connection is there. Originally, of course, it was a solidarity movement. But now there is movement everywhere. Not just in the USA, but also in Latin America and Europe. People are taking to the streets in Poland, France, Spain and Italy. In Germany, too, it's slowly catching on. The shoe may not pinch as much here as it does elsewhere, but it does pinch.What do you hope for from the Women's March on Saturday?There is a growing awareness in society. Just look at the new Gillette adverts, for example: A new image of men is emerging. I hope that this is just the beginning after 100 years of women having the right to vote. Back then it was about political rights, today it's about social and economic rights. We have to get rid of patriarchy and capitalism. Patriarchy is not men. There are also women who think patriarchally.Elfriede Harth is an activist and co-founder of the Rhine-Main Care Revolution Network. She is "as old as the Basic Law" - as she says herself (70 years old), mother of five and grandmother of twelve. Before retiring, she worked on women's issues.source: https://www.journal-frankfurt.de/journal_news/Politik-10/Gespraech-mit-Elfriede-Harth-ueber-den-Womens-March-Wir-muessen-das-Patriarchat-entsorgen-33381.html?newsletter_id=4119