«Gender equality is not a one-day affair and International Women's Day reminds us of the work to be done by Cities and Regions: working every day for democracy, human rights and the rule of law through the promotion of gender equality and the fight against sexism and violence against women. This is our daily struggle for a just society», observed, among others, in her statement on today's International Day, Rena Dourou, Representative for Gender Equality of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, member of the Political Council of SYRIZA-PS.
«Today, 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 their rights.” “War is a threat to human rights overall, but it affects men differently than women,» stresses R. Dourou.
«These negative developments come at a time when women's rights have already been affected by the pandemic. Although progress has been made at the institutional level, in European societies sexist stereotypes, domestic violence and femicide are still commonplace. We cannot accept this status quo. To fight against these inequalities, we need women in the decision-making centres, especially at local and regional level,» she observed, recalling the actions of the Congress to strengthen women's participation in politics and to tackle the many forms of sexism and violence against women.
