- Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission
- Véra Jourova, Vice-President of the European Commission
- Helena Dalli, Commissioner for Equality European Commission
- David Sassoli, President of the European Parliament
With regard to the terrible situation occurring in Afghanistan, eighteen thousand women of BPW Europe express their strong support for all Afghan women, mothers, girls and children. The Taliban people demonstrated, in all these years, a total disregard for women and their rights, preventing them from express their potential at work, in families and even in the schools.
BPW International is one of the most influential international networks of business and professional women with Affiliates Federations and Clubs in about one hundred and seven countries around the world. BPW Europe is the biggest region in BPW International with 18000 members.
Since ninety years, BPW has carried out and realized a special mission: to develop the entrepreneurial, professional and leadership potential of women at all levels through advocacy, education, mentoring, networking, skills development, programs and economic empowerment projects around the world, helping, in this growth, all women, regardless of ethnicity and religion.
For these values, which have always been professed and defended, it cannot even tolerate the hypothesis of violence against Afghan women, for the mere fact of being women.
We therefore strongly ask European Commission to open humanitarian corridors for support of Afghanistan women and children, humanitarian aid and to organize hospitality centers for women who need safe environment. It breaks our hearts to witness the rollback of women's rights in the country after years of hard work by Afghan women to access their fundamental rights to education, economic independence and self-determination in the past decades. These rights are declared in the EU's core value of equality between women and men which the EU should seek to protect in all its actions and policies.
We also ask to use every effort so that the European Union and the United Nations Security Council can guarantee the rights of Afghan women and girls at risk, with consequential behavior towards the Taliban people.
Your Excellency, we invite you to urgently request the Taliban representatives to respect EU fundamental rights and, as a first value, equality between women and men.
Anu Viks
BPW International Regional Coordinator Europe 2021-2024
BPW International Executive member
