SWISS MISSES
Women of Switzerland fight for their right to parity in The Divine Order
Two years ago, director Sarah Gavron gave us Suffragette, the story of women in Edwardian London fighting for the right to vote. The Divine Order tells a similar tale, but since it’s set in Switzerland, the year is not 1912 but 1971. We had put men on the moon — several times — before they let women vote in Swiss elections.
The title of Petra Biondina Volpe’s movie refers to the argument that the Supreme Being never intended women to vote. But for Nora (Marie Leuenberger) things come to a head when her husband won’t let her get a job outside the home. She falls in with two fellow feminists — an Italian/Swiss divorcée who suggests a “women’s strike,” and an older woman who lost her livelihood because of outdated property laws.
Together they set up an information night for local women in their rural town, and attend a protest in Zurich, followed by an educational talk about “yoni power.”
Nora realizes she doesn’t just want to vote — she wants an orgasm!
The film’s easygoing, lighthearted style includes a rather obvious villain in the form of a little old lady who runs the local “anti-politicization of women” league, and wouldn’t have anything to do if she weren’t helping keep women in their place. But the movie is a lovely diversion, and a reminder of how recent some changes to women’s rights have been.
In 2015, Saudi Arabia became the last country to allow women to vote, although Vatican City remains a male-only conclave when it comes to voting for the Pope, since only cardinals can vote, and only men can be cardinals.
Divine Order indeed.