Feminism
Foreign policy – and politics in general – is still a male domain. Yet we know that peace agreements last longer when women are involved in key positions during the negotiation processes, or that economic growth and gender equality are closely linked. And yet we are not making much progress – neither in the proportion of women in European missions abroad nor in the proportion of women in our own political institutions.
I want to change that. In the Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET) and the Security and Defence Committee (SEDE), I am campaigning for more women in leadership positions and for a European foreign policy that takes equal account of all people. In European domestic policy and local politics, I encourage women and minorities to get involved: I fight for them to be heard and to have a say in decision-making. Peace can only last when everyone has a seat at the table.
In December, together with the Delegation to the Arabian Peninsula, I travelled to Yemen - a country suffering from a terrible war that receives almost no international attention. This was the European Parliament's first official visit to Yemen since 2009.
We need a feminist foreign policy in Europe right now. But where do we stand and where are we heading? We discussed this at a conference I organised. The keynote speech was given by Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
On the anniversary of Jina Mahsa Amini's death, we brought insights into the long struggle for freedom in Iran to the stage in Berlin.
A year ago, the death of Jina Mahsa Amini triggered a new wave of protests in Iran, against which the regime is responding to with brutal violence. The EU's Iran policy needs a new approach.
Meldet euch jetzt an für die Veranstaltung am 9. September in der "Stasi-Zentrale. Campus für Demokratie".
The Iranian regime fears freedom: Tens of thousands of political prisoners are in jail because they dared to speak up. Everyone who still talks to the Iranian regime must demand their release! My plenary speech:
The Taliban have steadily restricted women's and girls' rights, press freedom and civil liberties. Now they target education as a means to spread their radical ideology. It was in this context that I travelled to Afghanistan for the second time.
This year alone, more than 300 people have been executed in Iran. The international community must not remain silent in the face of such atrocities, otherwise there could soon be 3000.
While the regime puts girls behind bars who dared to dance on the streets, those responsible for the poisoning of schoolgirls are still free. My plenary speech:
At the MSC this year, I discussed the situation in Iran on a panel. At the Women100 dinner, we talked about Feminist Foreign Policy, and at the "Updating EU Crisis Management” event about European crisis operations. Here are my impressions:
The Iranian regime added me to its sanctions list. My thoughts:
Dreadful news from Iran, an important decision by the UN Human Rights Council and what still needs to happen – my plenary speech:
