1. INTRODUCTION

The anti-gender ‘debate’ in Bulgaria was almost a complete repetition of what happened in Poland and Hungary, in terms of topics, arguments and agents. What distinguishes it was the relatively late arrival of the anti-gender rhetoric (approximately in 2017), which evolved with a focus on the term ‘gender ideology’. The gender wars in Bulgaria absorbed the attack against children’s rights, which was the first one to occur, and further prepared the attack against the civil society and its agents, civil society organisations (CSOs). It took a very short time, though – within the framework of one political cycle – for this discourse to become part of the public agenda.Before 2017 the term ‘gender’, used in strategic documents and laws, did not arouse political tension and arguments. Gender policies were understood to mean policies for ensuring gender equality and, given this interpretation, they did not cause any concern either in the public opinion or among political elites.

The legal equality between men and women is a legacy of the Communist regime. It was proclaimed in the 1944 – 1945 laws, and in the 1947 Constitution, which seems to deprive the feminist debate in Bulgaria of any justification. The modernising effect on women’s roles in the public sphere, however, exists in parallel with the reproduction of the established and inherited gender order. It follows the biologically and socially constructed family roles. These reflect the division of labour (in the private and public sphere), and the everyday and political culture and stereotypes based thereon. Motherhood is what the public expects from women. This expectation, incorporated in the law, is the basis of the active pronatalist policy which has been consistently implemented since the 1960s. While the law acknowledges the existing gender-based stereotypes, and requires them to be addressed in the education system, the effectiveness of the policies is not high. It is due to stereotypes, as well as gender inequalities, that gender-based violence has continued to be a topic that neither the institutions nor society understands, except for domestic violence and the Protection against Domestic Violence Act (2005). These gaps in the Bulgarian gender policy and practices have been used effectively in the Bulgarian anti-gender wars.