In
North mythology, they are known as the valkyries
- the
beautiful and powerful women of Odin who
escort slain warriors to the heavenly
gates of Valhalla. In modern-day
Iceland, the term has become
interchangeable with the Icelandic women
themselves who, with the 1980 election of Vigdis Finnbogadottir as the
world's first female head of state, have
pioneered a culture where inequality
between the sexes is shrinking every day.
Icelandic
women like to say that their independence comes
from a long history of having to tame the
land while their men were off at sea, but
whatever the explanation, this is not a
country where you will find many women
staying in the house. In fact, 90 percent
of Iceland's women have jobs outside the
home, and many of them, including former
President Finnbogadottir (she retired in
1996) are single mothers. Unlike they do
in most western cultures, women in
Iceland do not change their last names
when they get married - a fact that
sometimes confuses outsiders.
A perfect example of the kind of
no-nonsense, in-your-face feminism that
takes place here occurred in 1975, when
the women of Iceland decided that they
would mark the beginning of the United
Nations Women's Decade by going on
strike. For a whole day, the country
essentially ceased to function.
Icelandic
women like to say that their independence comes
from a long history of having to tame the
land while their men were off at sea, but
whatever the explanation, this is not a
country where you will find many women
staying in the house. In fact, 90 percent
of Iceland's women have jobs outside the
home, and many of them, including former
President Finnbogadottir (she retired in
1996) are single mothers. Unlike they do
in most western cultures, women in
Iceland do not change their last names
when they get married - a fact that
sometimes confuses outsiders.