On International Women’s Day, the European Parliament, through its president Roberta Metsola, expressed its commitment to advancing gender equality in Europe and around the world.
"Because a woman’s place is truly, wherever she wants it to be. Be that standing up in Parliament, heading a company or leading a nation to prosperity," she said Friday.
President Metsola was speaking at a gathering of female leaders in business, politics, civil society and charity organisations, as well as female educators, students, artists, media professionals, and athletes, at Europe House in Valletta on Friday.
Interviewed live by Clare Agius Ordway, President Metsola said, "I am proud that after 10 years of constant pressure from the European Parliament, we finally agreed on legislation to promote the inclusion of women in decision-making positions. The Women on Boards directive will require open and transparent recruitment procedures from companies across Europe to push towards greater presence of women on boards. In addition to this, and to combat the gender pay gap in the EU that still hovers at around 13%, we have introduced measures that will require employers to be open and transparent about the pay gap between female and male workers. To close it once and for all."
President Metsola added that what she considered to be the most historic agreement of this mandate: the Directive on combatting violence against women.
"For the first time ever, there will be EU-wide rules on the criminalisation of certain forms of gender-based violence and better access to justice, protection and prevention. Victims need support. Aggressors must face punishment. Women deserve protection. And our ambition is to keep striving to make life better, safer, fairer and more equal. We will not waver. Of this I am sure," said President Metsola, shedding light on the European Union’s transformative impact on women’s lives and gender equality.
While engaging with women present, she also highlighted the importance of women’s active involvement in influencing EU policies by casting their votes for direct representatives in the European Parliament elections in June this year.
The European Parliament President opened an art exhibition by Iranian-Maltese artist and human rights advocate Lida Sherafatmand, highlighting gender equality. The exhibition, ‘Symphony of Balance’, is a collection of paintings on the theme of power and the ascension of women, linked to the current situation in Iran.
Inspired by her memories of war, revolution, and persecution, Sherafatmand coined the artistic concept 'florescencism’, which refers to the flowers in her paintings representing the flourishing of an individual or a civilisation.
"We talked here about the importance of voting. In Iran women don’t have such luxury as voting freely: women are persecuted for being women," President Metsola said opening this exhibition for public viewing. Parliament is continuing its work with Iranian women after awarding them the Sakharov Prize in 2023, and the exhibition now in Malta’s European Parliament Office will be shown also in Parliament’s main buildings.
"The current painting collection is on the theme of power, looking at it from a constructive aspect," artist Lida Sherafatmand said. "This includes the power of gender equality, and how that balance gives rise to the flourishing of the community."
The art exhibition is open to the public at Europe House in Valletta from 8 to 22 March. Entrance is free on presentation of an ID documents to access the premises.
Iranian women Jina Mahsa Amini, and the Woman, Life, Freedom movement in Iran were honoured with the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 2023.
In another event organised by the European Parliament Office in Malta, artist Lida Sherafatmand will present the social science research behind her art in a lecture at Europe House in Valletta on the 21st March. She will be joined virtually by Sakharov fellow Aida Ghajar of the Iranian Sakharov Laureates 2023 Women Life Freedom.
The event will be open to the public.