The S&D group in the European Parliament adopted on Wednesday 3 May a proposal for an EU Charter of Women’s Rights, which the group wants to be adopted by the whole EU and respected by all Member States.
In concrete terms, the text covers a range of issues from economic independence to violence against women and the inclusion of a gender perspective in legislation. It also includes a section on sexual and reproductive rights, including the right to access safe and legal abortion.
However, the Charter was adopted at a meeting of the group in Krakow, Poland - an EU country that has been criticised for its de facto ban on abortion. In March, activist Justyna Wydrzyńska was even convicted there for helping a woman obtain abortion pills (see EUROPE 13144/24, 13143/22).
“I cannot think of a better a place than Poland to announce the EU Charter of Women’s Rights. We admire the courage of Polish women, who massively opposed the PiS government’s attacks on women and women’s rights”, said Iratxe García Pérez (S&D, Spain), chair of the group.
“It is inexplicable that women are being deprived of their hard-won rights and that the EU fails to protect them. At a time when the anti-gender movement is usurping the right to make political decisions, only the Progressives can lead the fight for women’s rights and gender equality”, added Robert Biedroń (S&D, Poland), Chair of the European Parliament Gender Equality Committee.
Indeed, the Charter is also one of the S&D's “flagship projects” ahead of the 2024 European elections. The group therefore intends to encourage public debate on the Charter and women’s rights by 2024, it said in a statement.
See the Charter proposal: https://aeur.eu/f/6nr (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)