Women Struggle to Be Heard in 'Macho' Hungary

They were few in number given the cold and too chilly to wear the skimpy outfits and fishnet tights typical of "SlutWalk" demonstrations. But there was no doubt the marchers in "macho" Hungary were boiling with rage.

Around 200 protesters -- mostly women -- turned out to slam a new police safety video that campaigners say puts the blame for rape on the victim -- an allegation rejected by the right-wing government.

The short film shows a trio of young women dressed up to the nines drinking heavily during a night out on the town, knocking back the shots and hitting the dance floor.

One later ends up the victim of a sexual attack.

"You can do something about it, you can do something against it!" is the clip's advice.

"The video tells you that it's your fault, when the research shows that in 70 percent of rape cases the attacker is someone the victim already knows," railed Anna Gombos, a 31-year-old accountant who helped organize the march for SlutWalk, a global group against victim-blaming.

"Committing rape against a prostitute is just as much of a crime as against a nun," Anna Rez, a 29-year-old philosopher, told Agence France Presse at the protest.

- Macho Magyars -

According to campaigners, only one in 10 rapes is reported to the authorities in this central European country of 10 million. The reluctance, they say, is due to a police tendency to blame women for the crime.

Critics say this is symptomatic of what they call a rise in machismo under Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a father-of-five populist who upholds "Christian values".

Orban has also been accused of centralizing power, stifling the opposition and curbing the independence of the judiciary and media since he came to power in 2010.

The premier, whose country is in the European Union, has no women in his cabinet. And women deputies account for only 10 percent of the 199-seat lower house of parliament, placing Hungary near the bottom among states in the world-wide Inter-Parliamentary Union -- and the worst for a European country.

"You cannot call this a democracy, when half the population has no representation," said Krisztina Debreceni, a 26-year-old financial administrator clutching a "Macho parliament, not democracy" sign at the protest.

Experts say that in the 25 years of rapid change since communism fell, gender issues have been far from the top of the "to-do" list.

Quotas might help, as they have in other former Soviet Bloc countries, they contend.

"You cannot say that Hungary is more conservative than Slovakia, or Poland is less macho. The lack of quota is what makes the difference," Andrea Peto from the Central European University told AFP.

But government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs debunks quotas as a bad idea.

He also disputes any political discrimination against Hungarian women, saying several state secretaries are female. He cited government policies designed to help women, such as extended maternity leave, more part-time jobs and increased state benefits that reward women for staying at home.

- 'Need more babies' -

"From a demographics perspective there is a need to have more babies," Kovacs told AFP.

"We focus on quality and competence. Don't let someone become a deputy because she is a woman, but because she does a good job," the spokesman said.

But there are some positive signs. Some in the business community are taking steps, including an initiative called "We are open!" that has grown to include 800 big and small firms since it was founded in 2013.

Last week, the group urged members and other companies to formally pledge to promote gender equality at work, notably boosting the number of women managers and job-sharing possibilities.

"Research shows that half of people wouldn't want to work with women," Edina Heal, head of Google Hungary and a "We are open!" founder, told AFP.

"But it also shows that companies are more successful if they have more women," she said.

Organizers hope the pledges will yield tangible results within a year.

"If people realize this is a problem, then they can do something about it," Heal said.