Women against women: The rise of anti-feminist leaders and their impact on the struggle for equality.

For years now, we have been witnessing a worrying trend in international politics: the rise of anti-feminist women to positions of power in various countries around the world. Figures such as Giorgia Meloni in Italy, Marine le Pen in France and Alice Weidel in Germany have established themselves as leaders of far-right parties that systematically promote hate speeches aimed at undermining the rights of women and other vulnerable groups. These empowered women are included within macho ideologies as a result of a calculated strategy on the part of conservative and far-right sectors to appear as a false inclusion while perpetuating the patriarchal and discriminatory system.

In this context, the extreme right has found in anti-feminist women an effective tool to clean up their image and present themselves as modern and open parties (a fact that is also used when including people of color or racialized people to spread xenophobic and racist discourses, take for example Ignacio Garriga with the Spanish Vox party). Placing women at the head of the party is only a detour of attention to their restrictive and regressive policies for women. Moreover, the aforementioned leaders act as accomplices of a system that uses gender to legitimize oppressive discourses.

Anti-feminist women have been able to consolidate their power in part because their message resonates with sectors of society that feel threatened by anything progressive. Feminism, as a transformative movement, seeks to dismantle oppressive power structures and find real equality in society, which generates resistance from those who benefit from this discriminatory system. They understand that feminism will take away their privileges and they will move into a subordinate role.

In this sense, anti-feminist leaders capitalize on this fear of change, presenting themselves as defenders of a “natural order” that in reality is the oppressive patriarchal system. They also use a discourse that criminalizes feminism and blames it for dividing society and belittling women who choose traditional roles. A message that despite being a fallacy, is attractive to those who feel excluded from the feminist movement.

Santiago Abascal and Marine Le Pen greeting each other effusively during VOX's “Viva 24” event at the Palacio de Vistalegre, May 19, 2024, in Madrid.

The irony is that these women leaders never admit that if it were not for feminism they would not have been able to reach these positions of power, because thanks to feminist activists the spaces for political participation were opened to women. This is paradoxical, because unlike feminist or left-wing women, women on the extreme right manage to ascend with relative ease to positions of power in politics due to several factors.

On the one hand, feminist women have a disruptive approach as they often openly challenge established power structures, which makes them a target for attacks and delegitimization by conservative and even media sectors. In this sense, feminists are perceived as a threat to the traditional elites, which makes it difficult for them to be supported both politically and financially and to compete on equal terms. We should also mention the existing double standard for evaluating women in politics. Anti-feminist leaders are celebrated for their “strength” and “determination” while feminist women are considered “radical” or “divisive”. At the same time, anti-feminist women are a symbol of what a woman should be for the patriarchal system, because even if they reach positions of power, their main mission is always to ensure the hegemony of the male figure and not to change the status quo.

It doesn't matter if these women do not follow these traditional roles in practice, since perpetuating the message seems to be enough for the hordes of voters of the extreme right.

A clear example of this contradiction is the case of Alice Weidel, an openly lesbian woman whose partner is originally from Sri Lanka and with whom she shares the upbringing of two children. This life model, which openly contrasts with the traditional values and political discourse of her party, Alternative for Germany, has been overlooked by its militants. This fact evidences the strategy of false inclusion used by the party, prioritizing political interests over ideological coherence.

Another emblematic example is Giorgi Meloni, leader of the Brothers of Italy party and president of the Italian Council of Ministers, contains a political agenda marked by opposition to abortion rights, the defense of the traditional family and the promotion of ultraconservative values that limit women's autonomy and yet in 2023 she separated from her husband, becoming one of those single-parent families that she had criticized and stigmatized so much.

Similarly, we highlight the case of Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Rally in France, a party traditionally dominated by men. Under her leadership, a twice-divorced woman who has been living with her “best friend” for eight years, anti-immigration, anti-European and anti-social rights policies have been promoted, aligning with populist and discriminatory discourses.

Alice Weidel and Sarah Bossard pose as a couple for @sarahsepabossard social media).

Faced with this international panorama, it is necessary to have an authentic political representation committed to equality. We must not fall into the cheap discourse that because there is a woman in charge, women's rights will be more protected. Despite what some sectors of society may think, feminism does not seek to impose a single way of being a woman or to criminalize men, but to guarantee that women and men can live together in equality. That is why it is crucial that women in politics not only occupy spaces, but that these spaces are used to challenge the power structures that perpetuate discrimination.

In addition, it is crucial to foster a greater understanding of politics in society and what we actually vote for. Most voters on the far right are deeply ignorant of the implications and details of the agendas of the parties they support. For example, in the United States, many conservative women backed Trump's Republican policies, lured by a false promise of safety from sexual violence based on the criminalization of LGTBIQ+. Yet, later, that same party refused to convict convicted sexual predators who were part of its ranks. These kinds of contradictions reveal how the far right uses a kind of strategic “click-bait”, capturing the attention of the average voter with shocking and simplistic ideas, but often far from the real world.

These narratives take advantage of social discontent - economic crises, unemployment, lack of welfare - to offer solutions that are apparently clear and direct, but lacking in substance. The voter, frustrated and angry, latches on to these slogans without delving into their background or their possible consequences. A clear example is the idea that women's insecurity would be solved by preventing trans people from sharing spaces such as public restrooms with cis women, completely ignoring the data that most sex offenders are cis men. Once in power, these policies not only fail to address the real problem of sexual violence, but perpetuate a system that continues to protect aggressors while further marginalizing trans women, forcing them to use male bathrooms and prisons, invisibilizing them and exposing them to greater risks.

In this way, the extreme right builds its discourse on simplistic and emotional ideas that resonate in a context of social unrest, but lack real solutions. Once in power, these promises are revealed as mere tools of manipulation, while the structures of oppression and inequality that actually fuel the problems they claim to combat remain intact.

In conclusion, the phenomenon of anti-feminist women in power is a clear example of how the extreme right adapts to maintain its influence. They use women and other collectives to appear inclusive, while promoting hate-filled agendas. In the face of this, it is urgent to strengthen an intersectional feminism that promotes genuine and transformative policies. True progressivism should not be measured under the false illusion of representativeness but through real commitments to justice and equality.