YES IN EUROPE

DECLARATION IN PROFESSION OF YES IN EUROPE

FORMER SECRETARIES GENERAL FOR GENDER EQUALITY,

Athens, Wednesday 1/7/2015

ANNA KARAMANOU
VASOO KOLLIA
CHRYSANTHI (SOU) LAIOU- ANTONIOU
ZETTA M. MAKRI
EFI BEKOU
TITINA PANTAZI
MARIA STRATIGAKIS
EVGENIA TSOUMANI

All of us, who have served as General Secretaries for Gender Equality over time, with different ideological backgrounds and political views, today unite our voices in response to the tragic situation that irresponsible and petty partisan politics have brought to our country and its citizens.

WE DECLARE YES TO EUROPE, WHICH REPRESENTS THE CULTURAL, SOCIAL, AND THE ONLY NATIONALLY SAFE SPACE, TO WHICH GREECE UNQUESTIONABLY BELONGS.

Europe of political, social, and individual rights, Europe of the Enlightenment, of the values of freedom, equality, and solidarity, is also the result of the historical decision of its peoples, after the devastating effects of the world wars, to live in a modern, developed, and secure world.

Today, therefore, as we live in times of absolute insecurity, economic destruction, with citizens in complete despair, we must not remain silent.

We know from experience, through the exercise of our duties, the decisive contribution of Europe and the European Union to our national effort for the promotion of women’s rights and their economic, social, and political emancipation throughout the post-junta period. For this reason, we do not agree with the official stance of the relevant government body, as expressed in yesterday’s statement by the General Secretariat for Gender Equality.

We emphasize that Greece’s accession to the EUROPEAN UNION played a crucial and decisive role in modernizing Greek legislation on gender equality and abolishing any laws that contradicted the principle of equality.

We remind of the main achievements for women that were promoted thanks to our participation in the European family, such as:

the promotion of the new family law,
measures for the protection of maternity,
parental leave,
the creation of the national network of nurseries with European funding,
the home assistance program,
measures for working women and EQUAL rights for women and men in the workplace,
the centers and shelters for abused women and children,
the fight against trafficking for the sexual exploitation of women

The countless programs and measures of the European Union for women’s rights are a European acquis, which, despite the economic crisis of the last five years, serve as a strong safety net. We do not accept any retreat of our country into third-world-like ordeals.

We say a strong YES to the continuation of Greece’s European prospects and call on all the women of our country to vigorously defend their guaranteed rights and the future of the younger generation.