Peace Queen chats with Women’s Rights Advocates
The office for the Norwegian Association for Women’s Rights was a small flat in a building that was more than 100 years old. The walls were filled with large paintings and photos of Norwegian women’s rights activists. Melannie soon learned that the fight for women’s rights in Norway began in 1884, years before the building was built.
Melannie (and her crew) was greeted by three current women members of the Norwegian Association for Women’s Rights (Karin Bruzelius, Chairperson of the NAWR and former Justice of the Norwegian Supreme Court; Lise Loken, Norwegian educator; and Gunhild Ramm Reistad, former local journalist). The women joined Melannie, Jewel and Janet Ruud (President of the Board for the Greater Tacoma Peace Prize ) for an informal chat about the state of women’s rights in Norway and how this organization’s struggle could inform others fighting for justice.
Melannie told the members of the Norwegian Association for Women’s Rights that she is a longtime member of the UN-affiliated Women of Vision in Tacoma and WOV was an early sponsor of the Peace Queen’s journey to Oslo.
The Norwegian women described some of the success they have had in advocating for women’s rights. “We’ve had a recent change in parental leave in Norway,” Karin Bruzelius said. “Parents now get a year off of paid parental leave.” The women on the U.S. side of the table were shocked and awed.
Karin also mentioned that significant strives toward political parity have been reached in government. ” For the first time, our PM is a woman, the President of Parliament is a woman and the head of the Supreme Court is a woman.”
Melannie said that women in the U.S. can learn a great deal from these pioneers.
SIDE BAR–
One of the Melannie’s crew was especially in awe of the former Norwegian Supreme Court Justice, Karin Bruzelius. Seems Justice Bruzelius is a good friend of Notorious RGB (Ruth Bader Ginzburg). “Now I’m just one degree of separation from my she-ro,” Joanne Lisosky said.
Women Power United…