MEPs discuss during a debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law, on the deteriorating situation of women in Afghanistan due to the recent adoption of the law on the “Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice”. Opening statements by Isabel WISELER-LIMA (EPP, LU), Alessandra MORETTI (S&D, IT), Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS (Renew, LT), Hannah NEUMANN (Greens/EFA, DE), Isabel SERRA SÁNCHEZ (The Left, ES), Veronika VRECIONOVÁ (ECR, CZ), authors. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

Strasbourg

debate

plenary session

EU - Afghanistan (T)

respect for human rights in the world (T)

AUŠTREVIČIUS, Petras (Renew, LT)

MORETTI, Alessandra (S&D, IT)

VRECIONOVÁ, Veronika (ECR, CZ)

WISELER-LIMA, Isabel (EPP, LU)

NEUMANN, Hannah (Greens/EFA, DE)

SERRA SÁNCHEZ, Isabel (The Left, ES)

The deteriorating situation of women in Afghanistan due to the recent adoption of the law on the “Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice”: opening statements

SOUNDBITE (Original), Javi L&Oacute;PEZ (S&amp;D, ES), Vice-President of the EP, We will now move on to the next item on the agenda. These are the debates on breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law under Rule 150 of the rules of procedure. And the next debate is on the deteriorating situation of women in Afghanistan due to the recent adoption of the law on the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. And we'll start with the first speaker who will be Mrs Wiseler-Lima as author of the resolution for two minutes.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Isabel WISELER-LIMA (EPP, LU), Thank you. I'm here today to condemn in the strongest possible words the adoption by the Taliban of what they call the law on the Promotion of Virtue in Afghanistan. Under the pretext of morals, this law is a direct attack on the fundamental rights of women and girls. It imposes draconian restrictions on their freedom of movement, their right to education, their right to work, and even their right to participate in public life. And it's part of a broader and systematic attempt to deprive women of their rights, even the most fundamental ones.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Isabel WISELER-LIMA (EPP, LU), This law spells a return to the darkest hours of Afghanistan when women were silenced and rendered invisible. And it even means that women won't be able to raise their voices in public. This is a fragrant breach of human rights. The European Union cannot and must not tolerate it. We have the responsibility to condemn these acts, whether it's under the regime of the Taliban or elsewhere. Women's dignity cannot be sacrificed in the name of a regressive ideology or authoritarian social control.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Isabel WISELER-LIMA (EPP, LU), If if women are deprived of education, they are deprived of the future. If they are deprived of freedom, they deprived of dignity. If they are locked up in their homes, they reduced to silence and they are deprived of their legitimate place in society. These women must not be abandoned to their fate, and their courage in the face of oppression must inspire us. We need to step up our support to those who in Afghanistan and elsewhere are fighting for a future where where women's rights are respected, protected and promoted unconditionally.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Isabel WISELER-LIMA (EPP, LU), We need to give Afghan women platforms where their voices will be heard across the world. We cannot remain silent in the face of this injustice. Attacks on Afghan women are attacks on universal values of freedom, justice and human dignity. Respect for human dignity is not negotiable. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Javi LÓPEZ (S&D, ES), Vice-President of the EP, Thank you. The floor now goes to Mrs Moretti as a co-author of the resolution for two minutes.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Alessandra MORETTI (S&D, IT), Thank you, President. Gender apartheid. This is what is taking place in Afghanistan. The Taliban took power three years ago. Since then, women have been overrun by a spiral of violence, denial of their freedoms and rights. Their voice is been snuffed out from the Afghan society. I should like to call on this House to think. What would you do if your daughter, your sister, your partner, or if you yourself were banned from existing. You couldn't leave your house by yourself, not to speak in public, show your face, study or work. It would mean simply that your existence would be cancelled.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Alessandra MORETTI (S&D, IT), The European Union could not allow these women to be forgotten. Three years have gone by now and the situation is only getting worse. We are indebted to the Afghan people who supported the international coalition and are trapped in their country. For those activists, for those journalists, we must guarantee them humanitarian visas. The country has been destroyed by hunger, by poverty, and women must be involved. They are not just victims, but they can also be drivers of change.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Alessandra MORETTI (S&D, IT), That is why we cannot accept that they be banned from the negotiation table. And that is precisely what is happening unfortunately. This apartheid that is damaging women and girls has not been recognised internationally and it limits then the tools that we have against the Taliban. The EU must wage this war. This gender apartheid must be recognised as a crime against humanity. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Javi LÓPEZ (S&D, ES), Vice-President of the EP, Thank you, Mrs Moretti. The floor now goes to Mr. Austrevicius, for 1,5 minutes as author of the resolution.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS (Renew, LT), Mr. Chair, Madam Commissioner dear colleagues. The Taliban's systematic and consistent decisions to turn Afghanistan into a radical Sharia territory must be met with a strong response from the civilised world. There is no alternative. Afghan women and girls have become the main target of discrimination and exclusion from public life. They're being excluded from social life, progress and opportunities for participation in decision making.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS (Renew, LT), This violates their political and social rights and robs the country of its future potential. We must do everything possible to ensure that gender apartheid is recognised as a crime against humanity. I call on the European Union to take all possible action in this area. There can be no decisions on Afghanistan without the participation of Afghan women. We must maintain the policy of non-recognition of the Taliban and prevent this regime from becoming an international partner and a dictator on social regression. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Javi LÓPEZ (S&D, ES), Vice-President of the EP, Thank you. Now the floor would go to Mrs Neumann for 2,5 minutes as author of the resolution.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Hannah NEUMANN (Greens/EFA, DE), Imagine you just gave birth to a child. In Afghanistan. If this child is a boy, you will have to send him to Madrassa, where he will be taught to look down to women waging war against infidels and be moulded into yet another soldier of the Taliban. And if this child is a girl. She'll be forced under veal by the time she turns 6 or 9, banned from going to school, disappearing into invisibility. A ghost and an existing species unable to speak outside the house. Unable to leave the house on her own. And if that's not enough of a prison, she'll be forced into marriage with someone she didn't choose.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Hannah NEUMANN (Greens/EFA, DE),: waging war against infidels But if you want to give your child a chance at a different future, one that isn't bleak and brutal. Well. Then you will have to risk everything. And illegally find your way to Europe because doors to legal escape have been slammed shut. You will have to walk across mountains hoping not to be raped. You will have to swim the Mediterranean, hoping not to drown. Make it through an exhausting asylum process, only to face so-called Christian political groups threatening to send you back to Afghanistan because for domestic reasons, they prefer to declare the hell of Afghanistan a safe place.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Hannah NEUMANN (Greens/EFA, DE),: waging war against infidels Dear colleagues, all those who supported the intervention to Afghanistan should feel at least a minimum amount of responsibility for the disaster Afghans are facing today. We tried. We failed. We turn our back. This is no option. And I know no one has a master plan on what to do, but there are always steps we can take. Strengthen mechanisms that hold perpetrators of human rights violations accountable. Increase humanitarian aid and make sure it reaches men and women. Work towards the codification of gender apartheid as a crime against humanity. Restart visa and resettlement programs for those most at risk in Afghanistan and the neighbouring countries.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Hannah NEUMANN (Greens/EFA, DE),: waging war against infidels And we should never, ever make ourselves complicit in the Taliban strategy to silence women. Every day we have to make an extra effort to hear the voices of Afghan women, to seek the advice, to give them a platform to ensure their meaningful participation representation in international foreign negotiations. For that, boys and girls in Afghanistan tomorrow may have a brighter future. And one word to those on my right who don't care about human rights. Let me remind you of the main lesson Taliban have taught us in the past years. Radicalisation happening in Afghanistan won't stay in Afghanistan, no matter how high you built your walls.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Javi LÓPEZ (S&D, ES), Vice-President of the EP, Thank you. Mrs Neumann. I'd like to give the floor now to Mrs Serra Sanchez for 2,5 minutes as an author.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Isabel SERRA SÁNCHEZ (The Left, ES), Thank you very much. The first thing I'd like to do is address the Afghan women who came to this parliament to be to be heard. Thank you for your sharing your voices and for your courage. And thanks for your fight. We are with you. Afghanistan has become the most dangerous country in the world for women. Women aren't allowed onto the streets without a male guardian. Their voices can't be heard. They have no control over their bodies. They're not able to open windows, are not able to do sport.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Isabel SERRA SÁNCHEZ (The Left, ES), And there were also, you know, beauty parlours as well, which where they were able to speak to other women before. They can't do that anymore. Now, that is a gender apartheid which is suffocating the public space and which is killing women. They are denying women's right to live. And this is the most oppressive regime in the whole world. But it wasn't always the case. Afghan women have always been a point of reference for women. If you look at the achievements, the feminist achievements they made from the 1920s and the 1960s and the right to education as a fundamental pillar of equal rights.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Isabel SERRA SÁNCHEZ (The Left, ES), But there's a huge amount of political violence and fundamentalist violence against women across the world who are promoting feminism and fighting for feminism. Now. Often people say they are worried about Afghanistan, but they don't care about women in Afghanistan. They don't care about women's rights across the world. One more thing. We need to dare to tell the whole story and the damage that is being caused by interventions from NATO and the United States for geopolitical reasons.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Isabel SERRA SÁNCHEZ (The Left, ES), These are illegal wars, funding terrorist groups. These created a failed state and which is that which is allowed the progression of the Taliban. We need to learn from history. War is never the solution. War destroys everything. And to conclude now, I'd like to ask how, given this situation, Member States of the European Union continue to refuse international protection for Afghan women, for minorities, for families who are fleeing the Taliban regime. You need to act firmly. You need to stop being complicit and you need to protect women's lives. Afghan women are not alone, and the European institutions need to show this legitimate interest.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Javi LÓPEZ (S&D, ES), Vice-President of the EP, Thank you. Mrs Serra, I'd like to give the floor now to Mrs Vrecionova for 1,5 minute as author of the resolution.

Speaker 5SOUNDBITE (Original), Veronika VRECIONOVÁ (ECR, CZ), Colleagues. The situation of women in Afghanistan is critical. The country is run by Islamic fundamentalists, the Taliban who are making women's lives worse day by day and trampling on universal human rights. If the EU takes its values seriously, it must find a resolute solution to this problem. There have to be comprehensive sanctions against the Taliban leadership, and they must be brought before the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Veronika VRECIONOVÁ (ECR, CZ), And unfortunately, it's not just Afghanistan. There is also Iran and women's fight for their rights, there. We've just had the anniversary of Mahsa Amini, Amini's murder by the regime, in Iran. This is the personification of what is happening in Afghanistan and Iran.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Javi LÓPEZ (S&D, ES), Vice-President of the EP, Thank you very much Mrs Vrecionova