Articles
International Women's Day 2013
March 8 marks the International Women’s Day, and yet in a number of countries around the globe gender equality is a much ignored issue!
On this day, the European Commission steps up and says “zero tolerance for female genital mutilation,” in an effort to wipe out the practice which is believed to have affected several hundred thousand women in the EU.
A new report released by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) on female genital mutilation in the EU, shows that there are victims or potential victims in at least 13 EU countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Spain, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and the UK.
European Commission Vice-President Viviane Reding says “Today the European Commission is joining forces with some very inspiring women to call for zero tolerance for female genital mutilation. This is an extremely harmful practice which violates the human rights of women and girls. The EU will fight to end female genital mutilation – not only on International Women's Day, but on all 365 days of the year.”
At the same time the European Parliament has scheduled a number of events to celebrate this day including ones focusing on “women and the economic crisis.”
See a full list of EU events here…
See a full list of events from around the world here.......
Read European Commission's full report here…..