30 years ago, in 1995, the Beijing Conference on women's rights marked a major turning point by setting out a global roadmap for equality between women and men. Three decades later, that equality remains incomplete. In Europe and Belgium, several key areas still need significant progress.
Worldwide, one in three women will experience violence during her lifetime.
According to the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, in Europe one in three women has experienced violence at home, at work or in public spaces. Compared with older women, younger women report higher levels of sexual harassment at work and other forms of violence. Nevertheless, violence against women often remains invisible, and very few women file complaints.
The rise of social media has led to an explosion of cyberviolence against women, particularly public figures, journalists and politicians. And Belgium is a hub for the trafficking of women for sexual exploitation, notably and mainly of migrant and refugee women.
Abortion remains criminalised under the Criminal Code, even though it is permitted up to 12 weeks, while France has just enshrined abortion rights in its Constitution to mark the 50th anniversary of the Veil law. The MR has always defended women's freedom to decide over their own bodies, and we will continue to fight not only against any rollback of this right, but to strengthen it.
Poverty in our country still has a female face, as women are more likely to be in precarious jobs and to work part-time (32% of women compared with 8% of men in Belgium). So-called "female" professions (healthcare, education, personal services) remain less well paid and undervalued. This naturally widens the pension gap too, even if it is gradually narrowing a little.
Women remain under-represented in management positions and on boards of directors: only 30% of leadership positions in European companies are held by women. In politics, although women make up half the population, they remain a political minority. Action is needed to correct this.
Solidarity with women around the world is necessary
While we can see progress made in Belgium and Europe, the rise of extremism, far-right and islamism must alarm us: they push women's rights backwards wherever they take hold.
Afghan and Iranian women face serious and systematic violations of their fundamental rights. Since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021 and the crackdown on protests in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022, their situation has severely deteriorated. Gender apartheid has curtailed women's freedoms to the point of walling them into deafening silence and erasing them from Afghan society. Diplomatic pressure must be maintained against the Iranian and Taliban leaders responsible for these crackdowns. Gender apartheid must be recognised.
In conflict zones, rape and sexual violence are used as weapons of war. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the figures are appalling: according to the UN, more than 50,000 women have been raped there since 1998. In Ukraine, Sudan and Israel on 7 October, women have been and continue to be victims of rape used as a weapon of war. Yazidi survivors of ISIS still bear the scars of the rapes and extreme violence they endured.
In 2000, the UN adopted Resolution 1325 on "Women, Peace and Security", recognising for the first time the crucial role of women in conflict prevention and resolution. Yet a quarter of a century later, they remain largely excluded from peace negotiations, even though they hold communities together and are the first to be affected by war. Of the 1,500 peace agreements signed since 1990, only 25% mention women's rights. Women are not merely victims of war, they are key actors for peace. It is time to give them the place they deserve. Peace agreements negotiated with women last longer: they are 35% more likely to last at least 15 years.
As liberals, we firmly reaffirm our commitment to women's rights, in Belgium and around the world.
Freedom, equality and dignity are non-negotiable.
By defending these values, we will build a fairer society in which every woman can fully flourish.
By Viviane Teitelbaum, Senator, and Loubna Azgoud, Brussels MP