Grassroots Politics: How Local Women Exercise Their Political Power and Promote Reforms
_______
This article is part of the 16th issue of LEAP — Voices of Youth e-letter. Subscribe now.
The number of women participating in politics in Taiwan has been gradually increasing over the years. In 2018, a group of women, who called themselves “Obasans”[1], decided to get involved by running for local elections. Most of them were housewives who had ordinarily worked at home, being responsible for the care of children and doing all the household chores, such as cleaning, laundry, cooking, and buying groceries. However, during that particular election, they decided to come out and speak up for their rights and those of their children.
At that time, they called themselves the “Obasan Alliance”. Since then, they have formally become the Taiwan Obasan Political Equality Party (TOPEP).
A Different Type of Obasans, A Different Type of Mothers
Most members of the original Obasan Alliance came from the Association of Parent Participating Education, a playgroup organization in Taiwan[2] Since most of the parents in the playgroup are concerned about social issues, they hope to actively participate and advocate for such issues to provide another opportunity for parents and children to learn and grow together. As a result, parents and children playgroup members began joining social movements starting with the anti-media monopoly movement in 2012, then you can find them in various movements like protesting against air pollution and forced evictions.
In 2015, mothers of the playgroup brought up the issue that many public facilities were not child-friendly. The general public tends to think that children should behave in an orderly manner and be quiet like adults. As a result, parents are hesitant about bringing children into public spaces. To change these trends, these playgroup mothers began calling for a more child-friendly public transportation system. Due to their advocacy, the Taiwan Railways Administration officially added dedicated parent-child carriage in 2017.
However, throughout advocacy over the years, they discovered that the government tends to respond very slowly, then the idea emerged for them to reform the system by becoming involved in politics themselves. They also hoped to set an example for their children so they can realize that “politics is a part of life.” Therefore, 21 members of the playgroup decided to stand up and run for local council elections in 2018.
Together, they formed the “Obasan Alliance.” In continuation of their advocacy in the playgroup, they extended to six policies that centered around “children’s rights”, believing that children are the principal entities to exercise their own rights. To allow each child to freely be themselves, they began promoting “gender equality.”
Simultaneously, they expect the society would provide sufficient support to all parents by establishing a “parent-child friendly” public space, which guarantees “labor rights” for the majority of parents who work for a living. Lastly, they hope to leave behind the legacy of a good living environment and civil society by advocating for “environmental justice”, and “grassroots politics”.
During the 2018 election, they stayed away from customary campaign tactics such as putting up campaign flags or billboards and did not spend campaign funds on advertisements. Instead, they went to where people would gather, sharing their ideals to pedestrians at the street intersections, or communicating with grocery vendors or customers in traditional markets.
Sometimes, Obasan candidates would bring their children along as they greeted voters on the sidewalks, which led to some questioning of the children’s safety. In response, TOPEP Secretary-General He Yu-rong said they would ask some of the parents to pay attention and look after the children. “However, as mothers, that is the problem we have to face on a daily basis.”
According to media reports, an average of USD 350K to USD 500K of campaign funds is usually required for each local council election in Taiwan. However, the Obasan Alliance candidates spent just USD 500 to USD 20K each for their elections. Even though the Obasan Alliance failed to win any seats, the candidates’ passion for social advocacy garnered them the sixth most votes of all political parties in Taiwan.
Obasan Spirit: Inspiring Civilians to Get Involved in Politics
The Obasan Alliance formally registered to become a political party in September 2019 and added the words “Grassroots politics” to the party’s name.
He stated that the party hopes to encourage people with different backgrounds to get involved in politics through “political empowerment” so that politics is not dominated by the rich and people with power. Currently, TOPEP has about 100 members, most of them are from parent-child playgroups or have been active in social movements. More than 90 percent of them are female parents.
In Taiwan, the word “obasan” gives people the impression that they are a group of elderly ladies trying to drive a bargain at traditional local markets. This political party where mothers are the majority, however, wants to present another side of obasans. He Yu-rong believes that obasans’ practical characteristics and emphasis on neighborly relations will transform the political landscape and serve as a model for civic engagement and political participation.
For example, obasans tend to exchange information and help each other. “No one is good at everything.” He Yu-rong believes that each candidate should make a name for themselves with their own specialty, but a party should not be illuminated with a single individual. “The public does not have to recognize my face, because I will make everyone see this group that stands behind me with their support.
“Obasans usually care about everything and love chit-chats with people all the time. Therefore, those concerned about social reforms have an obasan-personality!” For TOPEP, they hope to implement the ideals of civic participation and have invited citizens concerned about a variety of social issues to become party candidates. “Returning political power to the people should be everyone’s business, not just the duties of this group of obasans or mothers!”
The establishment of TOPEP has demonstrated that obasans are not people who just gossip in the neighborhood. They can also become actively involved in politics to lead social change for a better community.
____
Note 1: “Obasan”, originally a Japanese term, means “elderly women” as spoken in the Hokkien dialect in Taiwan. Sometimes the term is used to describe someone who likes to drive a bargain or tacky.
Note 2: Association of Parent Participating Education is an educational reform group, which hopes to develop new paradigms in education and child upbringing through a playgroup setting for parents and children. What emphasized in the playgroup mechanism are the ideas of “individual development”, “group collaboration”, and “caring for other people and the living environment.” With gradual promotion of these ideas, it’s expected to implement the concepts of democracy, justice, respect for diversity and ecological sustainability.
LEAP — Voices of Youth is a monthly e-letter with a focus on the progress for gender equality and women’s status in Taiwan, including the LGBTQ+ community and gender issues in schools. Click here to subscribe.
Also in This Issue:
The Rise of Women: The Untold History of Mothers Entering Politics
Not only fighting gender discrimination, but mothers also bear doubts about their profession in the political arena.
Author & Photographer: Lin Si-hou
Freelance journalist exploring gender and public issues.
