Chantal Gill’ard: 'Feminist talk is not the talk of Parliament'

Chantal Gill'ard has a background in philosophy and ethics in biotechnology. She is most currently known for her work as a politician in the Dutch Parliament. Gill'ard will attend WIDE on behalf of AWEPA; the Association of European Parliamentarians for Africa.











By Karoline Kemp

As I enter the office of Chantal Gill'ard at the Parliament, she tells me that she has to shift her mindset for our conversation. Feminist talk is not the talk of Parliament. I grab the opportunity to ask her if she defines herself as a feminist. Gill'ard responds with the clever grin of a politician, saying that she is a critical thinker who incorporates feminism, indeed, several types of feminisms, into her work. Her belief that the women’s movement is strengthened by diversity is something she attempts to bring into her Parliamentary work. The language that she uses in Parliament has had to fill a gap in feminist stances, which she describes as not having been the easiest of transitions.

We shift our discussion to more detailed aspects of her work, and Gill’ard begins to talk about her work with an enthusiasm that is hard to deny. The work of her portfolio centers around reproductive rights, with specific attention paid to the right to abortion. Gill’ard endorses the right of a woman to control her own body, and does this on a political level by supporting legislation in The Netherlands that sets out to protect the rights of women to abortion. Her party, the PVDA, recently voted against a legislative policy on abortion because they did not think it went far enough; they believe that the law should also protect the right to access services.

Number 5
Much of Chantal Gill’ard’s work has roots in Millennium Development Goal Number 5, which aims to improve maternal health worldwide. 'While many countries have not protected women’s rights to abortion, others have,' Gill’ard says, 'and this unevenness in policies is unfair.' Engaging with the Lisbon Treaty is one way in which she approaches meeting this goal, which comes with her involvement in medical ethics as well as development cooperation. Thus, she works not only at ensuring the rights of women to abortion, but she also acts alongside other government parliamentarians to ensure that those Member States who join the Lisbon Treaty guarantee women’s rights as a precondition for their membership.

Another interesting area of Gill’ard's work is with AWEPA, the Association of European Parliamentarian’s for Africa. She became involved with AWEPA after speaking at a symposium on HIV/Aids and orphans, where Archbishop Desmond Tutu was also speaking. Gill’ard decided to join the group, and has since participated in a meeting in Washington, D.C. to strategise about how to bring the views of Parliamentarians to bear on the issue of aid effectiveness at the recent High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, which took place in Ghana at the beginning of September.

Gill’ard notes that it is not only important for civil society to have a united voice, but that Parliamentarians must also work more on this. While the Netherlands has not been active in AWEPA for the past several years, her recent membership in the network means a valuable group of people will be brought back in to deal with important issues. Again, MDG 5 is a key part of this work, and here, Gill’ard observes that their work must not only focus on the right to abortion, but also on ensuring that the women are able to deliver their babies safely. This is also a human right that governments must work to protect, and to this end, Gill’ard is busy organising an inter-parliamentary conference which will produce a road map for the 80 or so Parliamentarians who will attend. Organised alongside the World Health Organisation, they will try to ensure that Member States’ commitments to the MDGs are further endorsed and implemented.


this article has been published in Daily Visions on 10-10-2008