Brussels, 12/10/2005 (Agence Europe) - Respecting women's rights and helping them escape poverty was the subject of a public hearing in Brussels on 11 October on 'Women and Micro-Credit' by the European Parliament's Women's Rights and Equal Opportunities, Development, Industry-Research-Energy and Foreign Affairs Committees. The hearing, part of the International Year of Micro-Credit 2005 organised by the United Nations, looked at micro-credit to empower women in Mediterranean countries, sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Asia.
Slovakian EPP-ED MEP Anna Zaborska, President of the Women's Rights Committee, told reporters that the aim was to both respect human rights and help women escape a life of poverty. She said it had to be possible for women to access micro-credit, adding that it was the EP's duty to ensure a fall in poverty, better adult literacy and better housing. On the situation in the Mediterranean, very different from Latin America or South-East Asia, Zaborska said rapid action was needed because the UN Development Programme's latest report said the situation facing women was alarming. The President of the European Parliament's Development Committee, Luisa Morgantini (GUE/NGL, Italy) said poverty and sexual discrimination against women, along with women's oppression in all areas, had to be combatted. Encouraging access to micro-credit was a small step that could give women greater self-esteem and should help reduce domestic violence, she added. She said micro-credit was a way of using the rules of finance (usually reserved for the rich) while respecting ethical standards - ethical funding is needed. Baroness Emma Nicholson (ALDE, UK), Vice-President of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said that along with healthcare and education, micro-credit is a way of taking both men and women out of poverty. Poverty is advancing at an alarming pace and the gap between rich and poor is growing ever wider, she noted, hoping that micro-credit along with healthcare, education and adult literary classes, would help change the lives of millions of people. We owe this, said Emma Nicholson, to the European institutions. Following suit, Britta Thomsen (PES, Denmark), Vice-President of the Industry/Research/Energy Committee, highlighted the need for society to be mindful of the problem since poor people never dare go to banks and therefore don't get access to micro-credit. She said technical aid was important. 2005 is the Year of Responsibility, said the Vice-President of the EuroMed Parliamentary Assembly's Economics Committee, Jamila Madeira, noting that most of the poor people in the world are women. We should encourage women to take a more active role in society, to see their lives change, she said. Madeira said she was proud to help people succeed without charity, - micro-credit encourages ideas and allows people to create businesses.