An unjustified attack ” “

In the course of its plenary assembly in Strasbourg on 13 March, the EP approved a report and resolution on “Women and Fundamentalism”: the report was presented by the Spanish MEP Izquierdo Rojo (PSE). The Resolution describes fundamentalism as a concept that “has its roots in America in the 1920s where the principal source of reference was the Christian credo and where it was characterized by blind obedience to literally interpreted dogmas, which were held to take precedence over the laws of the state and the rights of citizens”. The various forms of fundamentalism are described by way of example: religious, political and ideological. The Resolution declares that fundamentalism, especially that of religious character, “is not a phenomenon alien to the European Union”; it therefore needs to be tackled politically to combat its negative consequences on the life of women, historically the “main victims of religious fundamentalism”. Criticisms of the Churches. Emphasizing the fact that “European traditions and values in the field of respect for fundamental rights, democracy, the rule of law and the secular State are valuable”, the Resolution considers “deplorable the interferences of the Churches and the religious Communities in the public and political life of States, in particular when they aim to curb human rights and fundamental freedoms, as in the sexual and reproductive field, or incite and encourage forms of discrimination”. The European Parliament also condemns the discriminatory practices against women implemented in various parts of the world, such as the ban on female education, professional differentiation, and exclusion from political, managerial and religious leadership, and urges that within the EU “immigrants be informed about anti-discrimination legislation and allowed to benefit from services in defence of their rights”, preferably advised by persons belonging to their own culture. Criticisms of Church leaders. Moreover, the Resolution asks the Commission to activate a programme of information and awareness-raising on the damaging consequences of fundamentalism on the life of women, and – as the Motivation explains – “proposes to recommend the Council and the Commission to implement policies aimed at reducing the influence of forms of fundamentalism by fostering dialogue and reciprocal intercultural knowledge, and by offering women opportunities for training, information and access to the new technologies”. Lastly, the Resolution makes a plea to the three great monotheistic religions “to reject fundamentalism and discrimination against women”; expresses its “support for the plight of lesbian women who are the victims of fundamentalism”; and invites “the religious leaders – including the Romanian Patriarch and the Pope – to modify their attitudes to such women”. “Disproportionate statements”. Numerous criticisms of this document approved by the European Parliament have been made, and not only by the Churches. The delegate to the EU for the southern Regions of Finland, Tuula Loikkanen, who has particular responsibility for social portfolios and equal opportunities, emphasizes that “the Resolution drafted by the EP’s Commission of Women’s Rights and Equal Opportunities tackles a very urgent problem, but adopts means and terms disproportionate to the objective that it is intended to pursue. While it is right to denounce the serious forms of discrimination to which women are subject in Europe, as in the world, due to social conduct linked to male-dominated conceptions, the stance adopted by the Resolution towards the Churches and their presumed trespass into the public arena is – says Loikkanen – excessive and unjustified”. Gian Andrea Garancini – Brussels