Waiting for change
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`More women than men are studying, but the higher they get up professionally the less chances they have.'
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Reuters
Against injustice: Elfriede Jelinek, with the Nobel.
Suddenly, the Austrians are trying to read and appreciate the work of the winner of Nobel Prize for Literature 2004, ELFRIEDE JELINEK, an Austrian feminist author, who has braved fierce attacks from the far Right in her own country. She suffers from a social phobia and declined to receive the Nobel prize from Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf, saying the public spotlight would be "like a physical violation" for her. She preferred to receive her Prize in Vienna.
A reclusive writer who lives in Vienna, Jelinek is one of only 10 women to win this honour since the Prize was founded in 1901. Her mother was from a prosperous Viennese family and father was of Czech-Jewish origin. He was a chemist and worked in an important industrial production unit during the Second World War, thereby escaping persecution.
Elfriede Jelinek, who was born on October 20, 1946 in the town of Murzzuchlag in the Austrian province of Styria, is a highly controversial figure in her homeland. In her novel Die kinder der Toten she has castigated Austria, depicting it as a realm of death. Austrians have mixed feelings about her Nobel. She is not seen as peacemaker at home. More and more Austrians are trying to read her and these days, almost every book shop in Austria is selling and displaying her works. Excerpts from an exclusive interview with ALKA RAZA.
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AFTER a long journey in writing full of ups and downs, how do you feel when you look back?
As the saying goes, I feel between all the chairs. In between, some how. This is probably the only place where someone like me can feel at home. It is the best place for an artist. One has to live up to the expectations. I am mature enough to have my own perceptions, which, however, has often led me to unnecessary, wrong paths. But, perhaps, this should not matter to me.
You are one of the few writers in Austria who has expressed strong views on the socio-political system of your country and you have always been a fierce critic of the Austrian Government. What led to the confrontation with the far Right?
There are rather many women writers and Austrian women writers who, in one way or the other, have aired their views in a critical manner. I was more vocal and others expressed themselves through articles and essays. I criticised Austria for forgetting its historical past, not its government. The fall-out with the government happened only in 2000 when the Right and the extreme Right made a coalition. Since then, I, along with many other colleagues (actually nearly all) became sharp critics of the government. Naturally, I am attacked sharply by the extreme Right, but I would consider this a reward.
Women writers who raise their voice against injustice, especially against women, are stereo-typed as feminist writers. How do you react when you are addressed as a feminist writer?
I regard this as normal. As an intellectual woman, one can only be a feminist. One has, however, to first get accustomed to the mockery which one receives for it (also from women). Often these attacks are from those whom you support the most. Once, an old woman spit at me on the street. Of course, feminism is a stereotype, with which one demolishes all uncomfortable and unpleasant achievements of women. It is easy to be part of a general opinion and then to joke about those women. The patriarchal system that still prevails has the power to make fun of every woman whom they do not like.
How do you see the situation of women in Europe, especially in Austria? Do you see some positive signs of justice in the socio-economic-political system?
Of course, much has changed, but there is this famous glass cover, over which hardly anyone can step. More women than men are studying, but the higher they get up professionally the less chances they have. In Austria, only a year ago, the first female professor of gynaecology was appointed at a university. And Carly Fiorina, the highest paid top manager in the U.S., still earns less than her male colleagues. I do not see any changes in the near future.
You have raised your voice against oppression and injustice. You are not only an activist but were also alienated from the Viennese establishment for being a member of the Communist Party. How do you feel living in a world where for a large number of people violence and socio-political injustice has become a part of their destiny?
Quite desperate. I mean, I am stereotyped and that means one does not (any more) listen to me, and I am afraid my Nobel Prize will not change this much. A woman's opinion is never taken seriously. I will always fight against social conditions, while others enjoy the inequality and even make profit out of it. Since capitalism is ruling now, these people have the upper hand. One has to get accustomed to the fact that one cannot make inroads with one's political desires. It will take a long time, a mirage, until a new movement for more social, political and economic justice could dawn again.
Alka Raza, journalist and writer, is currently based in Vienna, Austria.
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