Iceland has the lowest marriage rate in Europe and As far as I know, 2 thirds of marital unions end in divorce, there is also a very high number of births outside of marriage (66 percent) and it is common for couples with or without children to live together for several years before marrying. On the other hand, it is not uncommon for very young girls to become pregnant, and this does not mean that they interrupt their academic training and continue university studies, this is because the State grants aid to maternity in these circumstances.
A 2012 report prepared by the NGO Save the Children places this small island state located on the Atlantic ridge, as the second best country to be a mother and the first to be a child. What are the keys to this apparently egalitarian society?
Probably reasons of all kinds converge, among them the fact that it is not a religious country, so there is no type of moral conviction why being a mother at 21 is ashamed, or that builds prejudices around moms who have several children from different couples. In addition, this Viking country could be said to be feminist almost by nature, and of course, although the best ones are always possible, they are very far from other European nations, let alone the Middle East or the Middle East.
Egalitarian country that pampers the birth rate.
It was in 1980 when Vigdis Finnbogadottir became the first woman president in Europe, see if years have passed and in Spain we still have not been able to achieve it (what we still have to do). She was a single mother who spent 16 years representing Icelandic citizens, and does not hesitate to attribute her feat to the struggle that her compatriots maintained in 1975 for equality.
They are strong and independent women whose main champion is their own self-confidence. But it is true that important achievements have been made that have been assumed by the Government, make it easier for them to be integrated into society, and active in employment, while being mothers. In addition to the aforementioned aid, Iceland can be proud of a law against sexist violence that, when it occurs in a partner, protects the victim by forcing the person who assaults to leave the home.
It is worth noting that companies that have at least 50 workers must guarantee a minimum representation of 40 percent of one of the two sexes in the Boards of Directors, that is, legally it is not possible for them to be all women or all men .
And look: the paid leave when a baby is born is 9 months of which 3 are for the enjoyment of the mother, another 3 non-transferable for the father, and the rest that they can distribute as they see fit. This guarantees the active presence of the parent during the first months of the baby's life.
Best country to live in?
Leaving aside the weather or geographic conditions, it seems like a good place, in fact there are single moms from other countries who are very well received there. Of course, its population is about 320.000 inhabitants spread over just over 100.000 square kilometers. It is a cultured country, with a very high per capita income, in which its inhabitants live for many years. I am not saying that it is an idyllic place, but many of its characteristics are attractive.
However, Icelandic women who could be compared to Italian, Pakistani, Portuguese, American, Filipino, or Ecuadorian, are compared to men: real equality does not exist in practice and although wage discrimination is not allowed, it does occur. In addition, I have read in some publications that a disturbing phenomenon has begun to take place that could unbalance - at least in the field of sexual relations - the balance: it is about pornification (a concept that we will have to expand in another ovation), and in fact There is already a precedent for a Sex Education campaign for adolescents in this regard.
Images - Helgi Halldórsson / Fredd, Anne Ling in New Yorker