Hungary’s re-elected PM Viktor Orbán shares Putin’s hostility towards feminists

It is no surprise that both countries have alarmingly low numbers of women among their governing politicians, writes Lili Rutai

The Fidesz party, led by Orbán, advocates the traditional, Christian nuclear family (Getty)

I don’t deal with women’s issues,” Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s prime minister said in 2017, during his second term.

At the time, this remark sparked outrage and laughter among Hungary’s feminist community. Little did feminists know that within a year, Orbán’s government would try to disempower the whole movement.

It banned gender from studies at universities, started portraying feminism as trying to disrupt the traditional family, started claiming feminists would either try to push men down or send drag queens to nurseries. It refused the ratification of the Istanbul convention, despite the dozens of women murdered every year. It blocked discussion about endometriosis in parliament, although it affects one in 10 women. It ignored every attempt to lower the tampon tax, among the highest in Europe.