Gender Equality and Constitutional Interpretation

Drinóczi, Timea and Balogh, Lídia (2023) Gender Equality and Constitutional Interpretation. In: The Rights of Women in Comparative Constitutional Law. Routledge Publishing, London, pp. 50-66. ISBN 9781003349488

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Abstract

Hungary’s Constitution, adopted in 1949, provided for the equality of men and women, and its amended version of 1989, which facilitated the country’s accession to the Council of Europe and to the European Union, also included this principle. Political processes, however, have always featured male dominance, and women’s movements have not been influential enough to combat this. The principle of formal equality between men and women is virtually fully respected at the higher levels of legislation, but since affirmative measures for women have always been allowed constitutionally, this situation resulted in several constitutional disputes initiated by men claiming that women were overprivileged. This chapter highlights the fact that alleged instances of discrimination against men have dominated the constitutional interpretation related to gender equality since the political transition of 1989–1990, accompanied by the vague argumentation of the Constitutional Court. As for gender politics, since 2010 the government has committed itself to family mainstreaming rather than gender mainstreaming. The primary objective of family policies is to increase the fertility rates of middle-class women. However, these policies may ultimately not promote a work-life balance for the target group; moreover, this approach may have intersectional implications, as it tends to encourage the fertility of “white” (i.e., non-Roma) women.

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