Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-03-15-Speech-3-029"
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"en.20000315.2.3-029"2
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"Mr President, I would like to congratulate Mrs Malmström on her very balanced and illuminating report. From the relevant debate within committee, it appears that Parliament supports the human rights principles unanimously, which I can only applaud. I also back the rapporteur’s decision to deal extensively with the women’s rights issue. With the sharia on the up in various parts of the world, this issue is more topical than ever. The situation remains extremely alarming in Afghanistan, where, since the Taliban have taken over power, women are no longer allowed to go out to work, are beaten in public for wearing indecent clothing and have hardly any access to medical care. According to reports which reached me over the past couple of days, the number of suicides among female intellectuals has risen dramatically over the past couple of weeks.
The example of Afghanistan illustrates that discrimination against women is not a cultural but a political phenomenon. Moreover, Afghanistan is not the only country where the rights of women are violated on a massive scale. Millions of women throughout the world are still being circumcised or married off. In many African countries, women are not allowed to own any possessions or open a bank account without the permission of a man. Other practices, such as polygamy or the inheriting of widows, have become untenable in an AIDS era. It is hardly surprising that in Africa, more women than men are infected with the AIDS virus. We must condemn all practices which lead to the mutilation or death of women. Within the European Union, female circumcision must be made a punishable offence. This is not a matter of tradition or culture, it is one of the basic human rights. But the atrocities in the rest of the world should not blind us to the atrocities in our own countries. Domestic violence is still a huge problem within the European Union. We must take a firm stance against this, which also involves prosecution. Just as serious is the problem of white slavery: 500 000 women and girls per annum are imported to Western Europe alone. A business which is estimated by the UNDP to be worth USD 7 billion. A powerful and concerted effort is needed from all Member States to fight this outrageous form of trafficking in human beings.
Mr President, this report sends a powerful message to the Council and Commission. I urge both institutions to turn it into something tangible, something concrete, and to do something constructive with it. In any case, we will judge them on their actions, not their words."@en1
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