The European Union High Commissioner for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton has disclosed that the long-term stability and development of the world can only be achieved if violence and discrimination against women are addressed.
Commissioner Ashton, also Vice President of the European Commission, said though women have made great advances over the years, there was still a long way to go to achieve a world free from gender-based discrimination.
In a statement to mark International Women’s Day, the EU High Commissioner for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy stressed that “the rights of all women and girls were a universal priority for the EU- an issue reflected in the current discussions on the post-2015 framework for poverty eradication and sustainable development.”
She emphasized that “equal access to education and health services and the chance to become a full participant in political life was everyone’s right and an essential ingredient of democracy.
She paid tribute to women across the world, whose courage and determination, paved the way for future generations, adding “where women prosper, societies prosper; where women suffer, so do societies they live in.” The European Union, she reiterated, remains committed to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women.
“About 200 projects and initiatives are currently funded by the EU around the world which aim to help women benefit from education and healthcare, to work and live free from violence and discrimination, and to assume their rightful place in society,” Commissioner Ashton disclosed in the statement released by the European Union Delegation to Liberia.
