“During these terrible times for the Ukrainian people and for Europe, we stand with the Ukrainian women and men who have shown extraordinary courage and resilience over the past two weeks. War is a threat to human rights as a whole - but it does impact men and women differently,” stated Congress Spokesperson on Gender Equality, Rena Dourou, (Greece, SOC), on 8 March 2022. “On today’s International Women’s Day, our thoughts go to the women and children of Ukraine. They are the most vulnerable during the war and the threat to their right to a decent, safe life is a threat to women’s rights.
“This comes on top of the setbacks women's rights have already suffered during the pandemic. While some progress has been made on the institutional level, in European societies, sexist stereotypes, domestic violence and femicide are still an everyday reality. We cannot accept this status quo. To fight these inequalities, we need women amongst our decision-makers, especially at the local and regional levels.
“However, the same sexist attitudes and violence that women face in their daily life are also obstacles to their political participation. As local and regional elected officials, we need to create and ensure the conditions for women to exercise their right to participate.
“The Congress has a long-standing commitment to promoting women’s involvement in local and regional public life. It continues to support this cause through its co-operation activities and by developing concrete tools to help local politicians promote women’s participation, such as its guides on Preventing and Combatting Sexism at the local level in Georgia and in Ukraine.
Gender equality is not a one-day issue, and International Women’s Day is a reminder of the work to be done by cities and regions: an everyday work towards democracy, human rights and the rule of law by promoting gender equality and combatting sexism and violence against women. This is our daily fight for a just society.”
International Women's Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women's equality. The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities has a long-standing commitment to promoting gender equality and women’s’ participation in local public life. Its most recent work on the issue includes a report on Fighting sexist violence against women in politics as well as a guide on Preventing and Combatting Sexism at the local level in Georgia and in Ukraine..See also: Gender Equality (coe.int)
