Federal Family Minister Lisa Paus is pushing for the unequal treatment of women and men to be overcome. “We still live in the patriarchy that we have to say goodbye to,” said the Green politician to the “Tagesspiegel”.
“For me, patriarchy is over when women are economically and politically equal, half of the power belongs to women, and gender-specific violence is not played down as an individual act, but is recognized and punished as a patriarchal pattern of thought and behavior.”
Paus was speaking ahead of Equal Pay Day on March 7th. The day draws attention to pay inequalities between men and women and the urgency of overcoming such conditions. Wednesday is International Women’s Day.
A project close to the heart of the minister, basic child security, is still pending. Numerous associations are pushing for an agreement within the traffic light coalition on the financing of the planned basic child security. “If the family benefits are to reach everyone who is entitled, it will not be free of charge,” said Caritas President Eva Maria Welskop-Deffaa to the newspapers of the Funke media group. This is currently only the case for a fraction of those entitled.
The German Children’s Fund and the German Child Protection Association also insisted on the introduction of the benefits for children and young people agreed in the coalition agreement.
The basic child security is to be paid out from 2025 and bundle previous family benefits. At the same time, access barriers for families are to be removed. It is controversial in the traffic light coalition whether the new benefit for children should also be accompanied by an increase in benefits.
Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) told the newspapers of the Funke media group that he was expecting additional funds from the federal budget “in the single-digit billions” for basic child security. Minister Paus continues to estimate costs of twelve billion euros. “We have calculated the need for this, so you can’t cut back at will,” she told the “Tagesspiegel”.
She accused Lindner of setting the wrong priorities with regard to FDP demands for tax cuts. “Child poverty impairs life and educational opportunities enormously. Children are our future and also the skilled workers of tomorrow. The FDP also knows that,” it said.
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