Women’s rights under threat: An analysis of the anti- “gender ideology” legislation in contemporary Romania

Abstract

Over the last two decades, several countries in Europe have been witnessing the rise of the “anti-gender movement”. In this context, various conservative actors have been advocating against “gender ideology”, a term used to justify initiatives against issues such as gender studies, sex education, marriage equality or reproductive health. Similar to other countries in Central and Eastern Europe, the anti- “gender ideology” movement found support in Romania in recent years and reached the level of political representation. However, by denying “gender” as a concept and other notions related to it, these initiatives have the potential of threatening all the efforts made in the region towards the promotion of women’s rights. This dissertation aims to analyse how “gender” as a concept is illustrated in the debate surrounding recent legislative proposals in Romania and what is the impact of such representation, if any, on women’s rights and gender equality in the country. To conduct this analysis, this research considers excerpts from legislative proposals, parliamentary debates, and written interventions on the online platform Facebook, mainly from members of the Parliament and the President of Romania. Further, by using the “What’s the problem represented to be” methodology developed by Carol Bacchi and an analysis of discourses, this research will draw on feminism and populism to understand how “gender” is depicted in this debate and if it poses any threat to women’s lived experiences in Romania.