During an event commemorating International Women’s Day, Gabriel Boric announced several measures to further women’s rights. He highlighted women’s historical and contemporary struggle. Among measures to improve the lives of women are a health bill and easier access to child daycare.
On International Women’s Day, Chile’s President Gabriel Boric promised the government will improve childcare, access to contraception, and push a bill to enable reparations for families of femicide victims.
“We are constantly working, day by day, for a Chile where all women could have a safe and decent life,” he said during an event commemorating the day. “We know that today is not only a day of gratitude, a day when chocolate and roses [suffice]. It is a day to commemorate the long history of struggles, of the tireless women who have paved the way and are still showing us the way forward.”
The government’s Sala Cuna para Chile bill will advance the rights of caretakers and enable all parents to claim a right to access child daycare. Autonomy and economic security are the bases of women’s rights and freedom, and to realize this freedom, society should help give working mothers peace of mind, Boric said.
#ChileParaTodas | Presidente @GabrielBoric y ministra @totiorellanag encabezan conmemoración del #DiaInternacionalDeLaMujer. https://t.co/vQj61iy2ea
— Presidencia de Chile (@Presidencia_cl) March 8, 2023
Boric also said the government will add 27 contraceptives to the public health system, leading to lower prices in pharmacies and chain stores. Women “should have access to contraceptives at a reasonable price,” even though “family planning should not fall solely on women,” Boric said.
To address stress urinary incontinence, which afflicts many women, Boric promised to add 1,000 surgeries in public hospitals.
Also, on Monday, the government sent a bill to the senate, which establishes reparations for families of femicide victims to ease economic hardship related to the death. “I truly believe that [lawmakers] will process this bill with all the swiftness it requires,” Boric said.
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Chongyang Zhang is pursuing an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s program in journalism, media and globalisation. His interest lies in the relations among the United States, Latin America and China. He is currently doing an exchange semester at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.