Former Swiss president honoured for advancing women’s rights

Former Swiss President Ruth Dreifuss (centre right). Keystone / Peter Klaunzer

Former Swiss President Ruth Dreifuss was honoured in Bern on Thursday for her decisive role in advancing women’s rights in Switzerland.

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To mark its 50th anniversary, the Federal Commission for Women’s Issues awarded its first-ever prize to the former Swiss cabinet minister.

Founded in 1976, the commission works to combat discrimination. This anniversary year, it focused on the global rise of antifeminist backlash, which it described as both growing and diversifying.

The jubilee celebration took place in Bern in the presence of Swiss Interior Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider. On the occasion, Ruth Dreifuss received the award that recognised “a woman who has made a significant contribution to equality policy in Switzerland”.

Speaking on Thursday on Swiss public radio, RTS, Dreifuss said she regarded the honour as a collective recognition. “This award belongs to the thousands and thousands of women committed to equality,” she said.

“We have made progress, but the work continues – with paternity leave, parental leave… There is still much to be done,” Dreifuss added.

Asked which achievement she was most proud of during her time in office, she cited the introduction of the Swiss Health Insurance Act (LAMal). “I’m not entirely satisfied with how it has evolved,” she said, “but I am deeply happy that Switzerland finally has universal health coverage.”

She also recalled her long-standing efforts to introduce maternity insurance, a cause reactivated in the 1980s after decades of constitutional neglect and repeated political setbacks before finally succeeding.

Antifeminist backlash

Despite major legislative advances over recent decades, Dreifuss warned that some gains remain fragile, pointing in particular to unresolved issues around equal pay.

She also expressed concern about an international antifeminist backlash, citing developments in the United States under President Donald Trump. According to Dreifuss, the stigmatisation of women’s rights and challenges to their legitimacy as a field of study are worrying signs.

“I fear that frustration among some men – who do not understand that feminism is an emancipation for everyone – could lead to more violence,” she said. “The worst outcome would be the persistence, or even an increase, in violence against women.”

From social policy to feminism

Elected to the Federal Council in 1993 in the wake of the non-election of Christiane Brunner, Dreifuss was often labelled an “alibi woman” at the time. She said her election reflected the explicit will of the Social Democratic Party to end the all-male composition of the government.

“I don’t mind being called a token woman,” she said. “What would bother me is if people thought I did a worse job because of it.”

Dreifuss rejected the idea that she had kept her distance from feminism. “As a socialist and trade unionist, it was the social question that initially guided my engagement,” she said. “Through that, I came to understand the depth of discrimination against women.”

Her political path was shaped by union work, pension reform and maternity insurance. “I encountered a movement that called itself feminist – and I became one,” she said. “You could say I converted.”

Adapted from French by AI/sb

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