Labour
Party Women’s Conference 2002
Plenary Session:
Cardiff, United Kingdom
2nd February 2002
Dear comrades, dear
friends,
I am very honoured to be
invited here, today by the Labour Women, who happen to be among the most
distinguished MEPs, like Glenys Kinnot and Linda McGavan.
I believe, this Labour
conference is a happy event, because it shows the idea and the desire to take
the necessary steps to bridge the gap still existing between men and women, as
well as between the rich and the poor. At least the lesson of 11 September is
that we need to take every possible measure to avoid that this happens again.
At a time when violence
prevails around the world, I strongly believe that our continent and our planet
would be a better place to live, if more women were to be involved in national
and international politics.
Women are historically
associated with non-violence. Their value system is associated with dialogue,
compromise, reconciliation and setting-up of differences be peaceful means.
This value system can hopefully provide an alternative to the current culture
of violence and help the development of a new political culture, that of peace,
co-operation and respect of differences.
Women have also proved to be more sensitive to social
issues, more imaginative and less technocratic. Wherever women participate in
public affairs, they put forward issues, which are often neglected from the
male political agenda. It is certain, that, if politics adopted women’s values there would be more
resources left for the poor, there would be more solidarity among people and
nations, more awareness about social issues related to quality of life.
As
Francis Fukuyama advocated in his article titled “If Women Ruled the World”…
“It could be certainly predicted that a greater participation of women in
politics would lead to a less violent world”.
Athena,
the Greek Goddess of wisdom and war, may have been the female model in ancient
times, however in the contemporary world, female influence is definitely
catalytic against militarism and for peace.
We
need to heal the divisions in the world and between Men and Women. That is why
we need to build alliances between the industrialism and the developing world.
Why we need to level the playing field by filling the gaps between rich and
poor and between men and women.
Ladies
and Gentlemen,
I
had the privilege to be elected President of the Women’s Rights Committee for
the second half of this parliamentary term, which continue until 2004. This
parliamentary term has started in 1999, with a European campaign to fight violence against women in Europe. This initiative,
which was proposed by our Committee, led to a new Community Program – called “DAPHNE”
– against all forms of violence towards children, adolescents and women, which
will last until 2003.
Another
form of violence against women, which has been of growing interest to the
committee, is trafficking in women. 500.000
victims of trafficking enter Western Europe annually, and the number of victims
is on the increase. Flows from Central and Eastern European countries have
dramatically increased, in addition to the already existing flows from Africa,
Latin – America, the Caribbean and Asia. Our Committee has drawn attention to
the globalization process, which implied rising levels of migration in Europe
as well as an increasing prevalence of abusive and irregular situations for
thousands of women, among them trafficking, which often implies prostitution of
women and girls. In a report on this subject, we pointed out that trafficking
in women in an intolerable violation of fundamental rights, and that fighting
this “new form of slavery in modern society” should become the first priority
in Community action.
Against
this same background, we proposed tough measures against female genital mutilation and denounced the brutality of this
so-called “traditional practice” which should be considered an offence against
the integrity and dignity of women and, therefore, punished. In the framework
of the European asylum law, women arriving from third countries should be
informed about their rights. Consulates of European countries should, when
issuing visas, provide information on the consequences of practicing female
genital mutilation, an information that should also be provided on arrival in
the host country.
We
also focused on the situation of women
around the Mediterranean, in a recent report. This report, which will be
voted in plenary next week, calls for a greater emphasis on the role of women
in the Euro-Mediterranean partnership, along with the respect for the
principles of political, social and economic equality between the sexes. We
believe that the Euro-Mediterranean co-operation policies must enable the
situation of women to be addressed in a way that is not conditioned by gender
or religious stereotypes, by analyzing and studying the presence and role of women
in the world today.
Women’s
Rights and Equal Opportunities Committee, has repeatedly supported the cause of
women in Afghanistan, principle
victims of the Taliban regime. The European Union has had the obligation to
ensure that the Afghan women are not, yet again, victims. Shifts from
deep-rooted conflicts offer a singular opportunity to form the basis for a
democratic and just society, but if the views of the 50 per cent of the
population are ignored, key ingredients necessary for the building a sustainable
peace are omitted or overlooked.
Therefore,
concrete requests were put forward in a resolution by the Parliament in support
of the Afghan women, and the resolution was forwarded to the UN
Secretary-General and the interim government of Afghanistan.
In
my first meeting as Chair of the committee, I put forward my deep concern
because of the fact that the rights of women in some Nigerian regions are routinely violated and that current state laws
prove to be inadequate and/or not applied.
Another
very important report has been drafted on “Women in Peace Negotiations and
Conflict Resolution” which places emphasis to women’s abilities in negotiation
and peace keeping. Unfortunately women are absent from all peace negotiations
and mediations.
Another
report of major importance will be brought to the plenary of March, in
Strasbourg, with the title “Women and Fundamentalism”
A
report is drafted on Gender Mainstreaming in the Parliament Policy.
Finally
the Committee has very actively participated to the U.N. World Conferences, on
Women, in Beijing 1995, on Population and Development in Cairo 1994, in New
York in 2000.
One of my main priorities for the coming years is to concentrate more and try to find ways and …to help women in the developing world and get more women in the World Governance.