Women & Fundamentalism

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

1999

2004

Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.

21 March 2001

OPINION

of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

to the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality

regarding women and fundamentalism

(2000/2174(ΙΝΙ))

Draftswoman: Anna Karamanou

HISTORY OF THE PROCEDURE

At its meeting on October 10, 2000, the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs appointed Ms. Anna Karamanou as the rapporteur for the opinion.

At its meetings on February 26, 2001, and March 20, 2001, the committee examined the draft opinion.

At the last mentioned meeting, the committee approved the following conclusions with 18 votes in favor and 11 abstentions.

The following members were present during the vote: Graham R. Watson, Chair; Robert J.E. Evans, Vice-Chair; Kathalijne Maria Buitenweg (substituting Alima Boumediene-Thiery), Michael Cashman, Charlotte Cederschiöld, Ozan Ceyhun, Carlos Coelho, Thierry Cornillet, Gérard M.J. Deprez, Georgios Dimitrakopoulos (substituting Daniel J. Hannan), Olivier Duhamel (substituting Adeline Hazan), Margot Keßler, Timothy Kirkhope, Eva Klamt, Wolfgang Kreissl-Dörfler (substituting Gerhard Schmid, in accordance with Article 153, paragraph 2, of the Rules of Procedure), Kurt Lechner (substituting Jorge Salvador Hernández Mollar), Klaus-Heiner Lehne (substituting Bernd Posselt), Baroness Sarah Ludford, Minerva Melpomeni Malliori (substituting Sérgio Sousa Pinto), Pasqualina Napoletano (substituting Gianni Vattimo, in accordance with Article 153, paragraph 2, of the Rules of Procedure), Juan Andrés Naranjo Escobar (substituting Mary Elizabeth Banotti), Hartmut Nassauer, William Francis Newton Dunn (substituting Jan-Kees Wiebenga), Elena Ornella Paciotti, Hubert Pirker, Bernhard Rapkay (substituting Martin Schulz, in accordance with Article 153, paragraph 2, of the Rules of Procedure), Joke Swiebel, Anna Terrón i Cusí, Anne E.M. Van Lancker (substituting Anna Karamanou), and Christian Ulrik von Boetticher.

CONCLUSIONS

The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs calls on the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, which is responsible for the substance, to include the following elements in its draft resolution:

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights officially adopted by the institutions of the European Union on 7 December 2000,

A. whereas there are different forms of fundamentalism, such as religious, political, and ideological,

B. whereas European traditions and values in the areas of respect for fundamental rights, democracy, the rule of law, and the secular nature of the state are valuable and continue to evolve in society, based on newly emerging needs; whereas it is important to protect these traditions from attacks by extremist and intolerant groups,

C. whereas religious communities, when taking on responsibilities that belong to the state sector, operate, by their very nature, against the rule of law and democratic order that prevails in the EU,

D. condemning the involvement of the church and religious communities in the public and political life of states, particularly in cases where they seek to restrict human rights and fundamental freedoms, such as in the areas of sexual life and reproductive rights, or incite and encourage discrimination,

E. noting that fundamentalism is not a foreign phenomenon in the EU and that it threatens the fundamental freedoms and rights of individuals, as it seeks to subordinate state authority and its institutions to a biased view that excludes equality of rights for those who do not share that perspective,

F. noting that millions of women around the world are deprived of basic human and political rights, such as the right to vote and to be elected,

H. noting that the right to religious freedom, including the right to change one’s religion, the right not to have a religion, and the right to practice one’s faith, is included in many international treaties and in the constitutional traditions of member states,

I. noting that all residents of the EU must be aware of and respect the fundamental principles of democracy, human rights, and the freedoms of citizens,

K. noting that member states now have a community legal framework that allows them to adopt an effective policy to combat discrimination and to establish a common asylum system and a new migration policy (Article 13 and Title IV of the EC Treaty),

I. noting that women should have the ability and freedom to choose or not to choose a religion, as well as to use religious symbols that express their identity, provided they wish to highlight their identity,

IA. noting that while procreation should be a purely personal matter, women’s reproductive functions are often controlled by family, national legislation, and/or religious leaders; and that, additionally, the majority of those responsible for controlling women’s reproduction at any level are men,

1. believes that no political system and no religious movement can be above the respect for fundamental human rights and democratic freedoms, and that political affiliation or religion cannot be used as elements of identity for citizens·

2. is convinced that there is no real democracy without respect for women’s rights, including the right to self-determination and the equality of women and men·

3. rejects the use of politics as a means to restrict the freedoms and rights of women or as a means of any form of discrimination; condemns the administrations of religious organizations and the leaders of extremist political movements that promote racial discrimination, xenophobia, fanaticism, and the exclusion of women from leadership positions in the political and religious hierarchy·

4. condemns any act that jeopardizes the physical and mental integrity and health of women, such as female genital mutilation; calls on member states to adopt legislation against this practice·

Justification:

According to the British Medical Association, 3,000 such procedures are performed each year in the United Kingdom, while a study conducted as part of the Daphne program found that the largest percentage of migrant women coming to Europe originate from countries that practice female genital mutilation. In the EU, only Sweden and the United Kingdom have laws prohibiting this practice.

5. Condemns any control over women’s reproductive choices in the name of religion, race, culture, or nationality; believes that women have the right to choose whether and/or when to have children and how many; all women, regardless of age, have the right to information and access to reproductive health services·

6. Condemns any action that denies women the right to make their own choices regarding their sexual behavior, lifestyle, and personal relationships·

7. Condemns the implementation of inhumane, violent, and humiliating punishments, especially against women, that are included in the criminal code or practiced in certain third countries, such as whipping and stoning, in the name of religious traditions·

8. Condemns honor killings, where male family members may murder their sister or daughter for reasons of “honor”; emphasizes that perpetrators of such crimes should be treated as murderers under criminal law and the judicial system·

Justification:

In September 2000, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) estimated that around 5,000 women and girls are murdered each year by male family members for reasons of “honor.” Perpetrators often go unpunished in countries where such violence is considered an acceptable means of controlling women’s behavior rather than a serious crime.

9. Calls on member states to adopt legislation that ensures respect for multiculturalism and promotes measures to eliminate ghettos·

10. Calls on member states to remain neutral regarding various religious doctrines, to maintain their secular character, ensuring a complete separation of church and state, and to abolish any legal and practical obstacles to the practice of religious duties and the use of religious symbols, provided that religious rules are compatible with national laws, the rule of law, and international conventions·

11. Proposes that the formulation and implementation of a common foreign policy be based on principles such as democracy and respect for human rights, and be conducted in a manner (addressing issues and problems through peaceful means) that effectively contributes to the effort to eliminate anti-European (anti-Western) reactions and fundamentalist tendencies·

12. Requests the Council to pay attention to regimes in third countries, with which it enters into economic and trade agreements, to ensure they do not interfere in the lives of citizens, especially women, in ways that violate international conventions on respect for human rights·

13. Supports women who are fighting against fundamentalism and any movement aimed at excluding them based on their gender from social, economic, and political life, as well as from access to certain geographical areas of the planet·

14. Calls on member states to urge third countries with which they cooperate to take action to ensure women’s rights to vote, work, education, property, inheritance, as well as their right to participate in decision-making bodies and hold public office·

15. Considers essential, within the framework of a preventive policy, the immediate social integration of migrants, refugees, and minorities who legally reside in the European Union, along with the recognition of all their political and labor rights·

16. Calls on the Council to support the European Commission, within the framework of Euro-Mediterranean cooperation, in initiatives related to intercultural dialogue·

17. Calls on the European Commission, within the framework of the Tampere process for the formulation of a common European Policy on migration and asylum, to recognize discrimination and persecution faced by women refugees from theocratic and fundamentalist regimes as valid grounds for granting asylum.