WUNRN
Engendering Citizenship A Key to
Democracy
Policy Recommendations from
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT PUBLIC HEARING
9 APRIL 2014
Women’s citizenship was the topic
that gathered decision makers, women’s rights and human rights defenders at the
Hearing in the European Parliament in Brussels organized by the European
Feminist Initiative IFE-EFI with the support of GUE/NGL group. In the heart of
European Institutions the dominant speech considers that women’s rights and
equality between women and men are integral part of the EU political system.
But women know that there is still a long way to go for them to reach
substantive equality and full citizenship. The links between
all the obstacles to full citizenship for women have been uncovered and
elaborated by the speakers from Poland, Jordan, Spain, Palestine, France,
Sweden, German and Syria; from political participation to reproductive rights,
from violence against women to institutional denial of citizen’s rights by the
States. All along this conference these issues have been discussed by women and
men coming from 21 different countries from the Euro-Med region.
RECOMMENDATIONS
There is urgency to mobilize, to act, to strengthen
discourse, cooperation and cross sector dialogue on women’s rights and gender
equality. Gender equality means that “women and men are of equal worth and
imply ensuring the knowledge and experience of both men and women are used to
promote progress in all spheres of society.“ Decision makers have the
responsibility to act efficiently for abolishing all forms of violence against
women, discrimination and oppression in order to enable women to live their
lives without the fear of abuse or violence.
In the view of
the above, the following recommendations to the decision makers and the
candidates to the upcoming European election were issued.
The
participants discussed the role of the European Union in promoting peace and
democracy in Europe, Euro-Med and globally. The following recommendations to
the EU were issued.
Boriana Jönsson
Euro-Med Program Director
European
Feminist Initiative IFE-EFI
Email: boriana.jonsson@efi-ife.org
Web: www.efi-ife.org