Lack of clarity

International Women’s Day, celebrated on 8 March, should not be "consigned to the archives" in the view of the European Parliament. Two reports on the question will be discussed at the opening of the plenary session of 12-15 March. One of them is especially substantial and comprises a draft resolution of the EP "on equality between men and women in the European Union – 2011". This is a wide-ranging document which not only makes a series of important declarations on the protection of women’s rights, but also presents various problematic aspects, some of them ambiguous, which ought to generate a process of cultural and ethical, as well as political, reflection, involving the public opinion of the 27 member countries.Persistent inequalities. The rapporteur is the Dutch MEP Sophia in’t Veld who, in her preamble, points out among other things: "Equality between men and women is a fundamental principle of the EU". Not only is it sanctioned in the treaties, but the Union "has given itself the specific task of integrating the principle of gender equality in all its activities". "In spite of gradual progress in this field", the document recognises, however, that "many inequalities between men and women still persist in this field". There follow a series of reflections linked, for example, to the fact that the current economic crisis tends to worsen the situation of women, further undermining their rights and opportunities; women, for performing the same work as their male colleagues, receive a significantly lower wage, and this often influences the levels of social, medical and pension protection accorded to them. Substantial inequality between the sexes also requires "a better political representation of women", given that "the representation of women in the political decision-making processes has registered no improvement in recent years" and women involved in politics remain a tiny minority in comparison with men. Other observations in the document concern the greater exposure of women to poverty and social exclusion, and to the many forms of violence perpetrated on them, with a real escalation of forms of domestic violence. Another group of observations tackles other aspects of the difficulties that women experience in European societies today: it is enough to think of the difficulties of reconciling professional with domestic life (hours of work, responsibilities, maternity leave…), or with the important task of bringing up children, also in view of inadequate or too expensive services such as kindergartens and nursery schools. A separate paragraph is dedicated to the many women in conditions "at risk" such as disabled or elderly women, those belonging to ethnic minorities and especially those "of roma stock and immigrants": all these women "suffer multiple and sectorial forms of discrimination and are the most vulnerable to social exclusion, poverty and grave violations of human rights". The report then presents a series of recommendations in terms of "equality of economic independence", "equality of pay" for the same work, equality in decision-making and political processes, "dignity, integrity and an end of gender violence", and not least equality between men and women as a key principle inspiring the external action, i.e. the foreign policy, of the European Union.Many problematic points. The resolution contains, on the other hand, many problematic points. Though it has a relatively limited "specific gravity" in the context of the EU’s legislative activity (it should be recalled, not least, that the EU has no competence in the field of life, family and other highly sensitive ethical questions), it is indicative of a mentality that would deserve some careful reflection in civil society (churches and religious communities included), and in the political and cultural worlds. The document refers to "sexual and reproductive health and rights" on which different interpretations are registered. It is further affirmed, in another paragraph, that "families in the EU are diverse and comprise married parents, unmarried parents in a stable relationship, parents of different sex and of the same sex, single parents and adoptive parents, who deserve equal protection in the context of national and EU legislation": a lack of clarity in the definition of the concept, juridical as well as political, of the "family" seems manifest here. A little further on the Commission and member states are invited "to formulate proposals for the mutual recognition of civil unions and homosexual families at the European level between the countries in which legislation already exists on the matter, with a view to guaranteeing equal treatment in terms of work, free circulation, tax regime and social security, the protection of the income of nuclear families and the safeguard of children". It is no accident that the draft resolution – which, after having divided the competent parliamentary commission, will now pass to the scrutiny of the hemicycle, where there will be no shortage of proposed amendments – "regrets the adoption by some member states of restrictive definitions of the family with the aim of rejecting the legal protection of same-sex couples and their children". The examples could be continued with equally alarming quotations in terms of the document’s recommendations on the "protection" of "safe and legal abortion" or the fight against Hiv/Aids.