Don't Question My Commitment to Women – I'm Holy Mad

Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard expressed strong opposition to proposals that offer mere "economic band-aids" rather than achieving true gender equality. She stated that money represents freedom, a lesson learned from her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, and that equality is more than just a political slogan.

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Money is freedom, especially for women. That is what my mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother taught me. Equality is not just a value word for political speeches.

Stenergard noted a significant shift in voting patterns, with women and men diverging more than ever in the last general election. While her party, the Moderates, maintained support among men, they lost ground with women. She believes reversing this trend is crucial for the party's growth and sees it as a challenge for other conservative parties in Sweden and globally, especially amid a global rollback of women's rights.

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I strongly object to various proposals, even bourgeois ones, that offer economic band-aids instead of creating real justice.

She emphasized that her commitment to women's rights is not merely a campaign tactic or a response to criticism. When a commentator questioned her engagement, it angered three generations of women in her family. Stenergard insists her advocacy stems from a fundamental belief in justice and a desire for genuine equality, not superficial measures.

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When Anna Hedenmo in a commentary (DN 24/6) questioned my commitment to women and wrote that I 'suddenly pose with daughter and mother,' it made three generations of women – my mother, myself, and my daughter – holy mad.

Drawing inspiration from her female role models, Stenergard believes gender equality must be actively pursued by each generation. She recounted an anecdote where her mother, who worked in tax policy at the EU Commission, was asked how it felt to be away from her family. This question, she noted, was never posed to fathers who commuted for work. Her grandmother and great-grandmother, raised in traditional roles, paved the way for subsequent generations, while their brothers received education and opportunities.

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Some fathers commuted to work in the armed forces.