Who is Ana Pimentel, new president, of the Women’s Committee in the Chamber

Federal deputy Ana Pimentel (PT-MG) was elected president of the Commission for the Defense of Women’s Rights of the Chamber of Deputies this Wednesday (20). The other positions (1st, 2nd and 3rd vice-presidencies) will be defined next week.

Among the committee’s priorities, the deputy highlighted the fight against inequalities between men and women and the expansion of female representation in politics.

According to Ana Pimental, inequalities materialize in the sexual division of labor, which makes women exclusively responsible for family care.

“The striking fact is that women spend around 20 hours a week on unpaid work. That’s 10 hours more than men. This means that women are obviously overworked, sick and have difficulty occupy the world of politics”, said the PT deputy.

In the commission, the deputy intends to approve projects that increase female representation in spaces of power and decision-making and promote greater equity in the job market. “Today, only 17% of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies are occupied by women, even though they are the majority of the population. If we look at the data from the Municipal Chambers and State Legislative Assemblies, they are even more alarming”, she lamented.

“There is still a marked salary difference between men and women in Brazil, where women who occupy the same position as men earn up to 20% less. In the case of black women, they earn 44% less than white men, when they carry out same functions”, he added.

Created in 2016, the Commission for the Defense of Women’s Rights has, among its responsibilities, the receipt, evaluation and investigation of complaints relating to the threat or violation of women’s rights, especially victims of domestic, physical and psychological violence. and morals. The commission also oversees government programs related to the protection of women’s rights.

Stuck agendas

One of the projects that remains stalled in the committee and which faces strong resistance from the feminist bench is the Statute of the Unborn Child, which aims to protect life from conception. The proposal had its report presented to the committee at the end of 2022, and since then, it has not been put to a vote.

To speed up the processing of the proposal, the conservative bench presented an urgent request for consideration in the plenary. The request awaits the deliberation of the President of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), before being put to a vote.

Some deputies criticize the installation of the commission, because they think it was created just to please the feminist public.

Profile of the new president

Doctor, professor at the Federal University of São João del Rei and public health researcher, Ana Pimentel has a master’s degree and doctorate in public health. In her first term as federal deputy, she chairs the SUS Mixed Parliamentary Front, is part of the Parliamentary Front in Defense of Vaccines, and is vice-president of the Mixed Parliamentary Front for Education.

From 2021 to 2022, she was Secretary of Health for Mayor Margarida Salomão, of Juiz de Fora (MG).

She was one of the founders of the first women’s collective at UFJF, Maria Maria, a group that is part of the World March of Women in Juiz de Fora. In 2007, she was Director of Women at the National Union of Students (UNE), where she acted as a feminist activist at the national level. In 2010, at the Workers’ Party of Minas Gerais, she served as State Secretary for Youth

*With information from Agência Câmara