A bill proposed by the opposition United Democratic Forces (UtDF) to promote equal opportunities for both sexes was rejected in Parliament last Wednesday.
Only Bulgaria and Serbia did not have a law on this issue yet, said Anastasiya Mozer, leader of the Bulgarian Agrarian People’s Union – People’s Union (BAPU-PU) and UtDF deputy floor leader.
She said that quashing the bill would “send a bad signal about the progress of Bulgaria’s European integration.”
One of the EU requirements for admission of new members is legislation on gender equality.
Evdokia Maneva, a UtDF MP, said that the level of civilisation in a society was determined by the attitude towards women.
Emilia Maslarova from the Coalition for Bulgaria (CB) said that nowadays impoverished Bulgarians paid only for the education of their male children.
The bill provided for a state policy on gender equality, coordinated by the minister of labour and social policy and the National Council with the minister.
It suggested that an ombudsman be instituted as a body working for equal opportunities for men and women. Elimination of the abuse of rights, criminalisation of sexual harassment and equal remuneration for similar duties were also proposed.
“Men who flirt with their female colleagues and thus embarrass them could be fined 500 to 1,000 leva,” the draft bill provided. “Sanctions against companies that allow sexual harassment will be between 2,500 and 5,000 leva.”
The majority of deputies, 103, abstained. Sixty supported the act and 17 were against it. Mostly the sponsors of the act from the UtDF and deputies from the CB voted for the equal opportunities of both sexes.
Most MPs agreed that women are discriminated against at the workplace but the ideas for an ombudsman and a national council were rejected, because there were already state institutions that could fulfill these functions, members of the parliamentary committee for labour and social policy said.
According to Chetin Kazak of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, who is also a member of the parliamentary committee for European integration, the bill had to be voted down because the ruling majority was drafting its own comprehensive anti-discrimination bill.
Lyuben Kornezov from the CB asked the women from his parliamentary group to excuse him for his position against the draft. He said that except the title, everything in the project should be thrown away and the whole content should be rewritten.
“The society is ready for such a law, but the draft is not ready for the society,” Kornezov said.
Only Bulgaria and Serbia did not have a law on this issue yet, said Anastasiya Mozer, leader of the Bulgarian Agrarian People’s Union – People’s Union (BAPU-PU) and UtDF deputy floor leader.
She said that quashing the bill would “send a bad signal about the progress of Bulgaria’s European integration.”
One of the EU requirements for admission of new members is legislation on gender equality.
Evdokia Maneva, a UtDF MP, said that the level of civilisation in a society was determined by the attitude towards women.
Emilia Maslarova from the Coalition for Bulgaria (CB) said that nowadays impoverished Bulgarians paid only for the education of their male children.
The bill provided for a state policy on gender equality, coordinated by the minister of labour and social policy and the National Council with the minister.
It suggested that an ombudsman be instituted as a body working for equal opportunities for men and women. Elimination of the abuse of rights, criminalisation of sexual harassment and equal remuneration for similar duties were also proposed.
“Men who flirt with their female colleagues and thus embarrass them could be fined 500 to 1,000 leva,” the draft bill provided. “Sanctions against companies that allow sexual harassment will be between 2,500 and 5,000 leva.”
The majority of deputies, 103, abstained. Sixty supported the act and 17 were against it. Mostly the sponsors of the act from the UtDF and deputies from the CB voted for the equal opportunities of both sexes.
Most MPs agreed that women are discriminated against at the workplace but the ideas for an ombudsman and a national council were rejected, because there were already state institutions that could fulfill these functions, members of the parliamentary committee for labour and social policy said.
According to Chetin Kazak of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, who is also a member of the parliamentary committee for European integration, the bill had to be voted down because the ruling majority was drafting its own comprehensive anti-discrimination bill.
Lyuben Kornezov from the CB asked the women from his parliamentary group to excuse him for his position against the draft. He said that except the title, everything in the project should be thrown away and the whole content should be rewritten.
“The society is ready for such a law, but the draft is not ready for the society,” Kornezov said.
