Women’s rights are human rights

STATEMENT ON INTERNATIONAL DAY OF WOMEN’s RIGHTS

The Party of the European Left considers feminism fundamental. We want to put an end to the inequality that women suffer in Europe simply because they are working women.

We demand equal opportunities for women in all aspects of their life.

We denounce the persistent gender pay and pension gap and we demand the immediate transposition of the EU Equal Pay Directive into national law in all Member States.

We fight for the recognition and redistribution of care work, which still falls almost exclusively on women’s shoulders. The European Left Party seeks an immediate allocation of funds, giving public care services priority over military spending, in an EU that continues to invest in military spending, in a globe torn apart by violence. In order to give women equal access to the job market and reduce their financial reliance on their partners—which all too frequently keeps them from ending violent relationships—investment in public care services is essential.

Now that the right to abortion has been enshrined in the French constitution, we are emphasizing this once again: The European Left defends the right of women to make autonomous decisions about motherhood and their bodies. We demand that the right to universally accessible contraceptive services and safe abortion be guaranteed by the European Treaties throughout Europe.

The increasing gender and women based violence must be countered at all levels of government, we therefore demand the term ‘femicide’ to be included in the legislation of the EU and the member states.