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Resolution 1887 (2012) Final version
Multiple discrimination against Muslim women in Europe: for equal opportunities
1. In the Council of Europe member
States where Islam is not the religion of the majority of the population, Muslim
women are often victims of stereotyping, since their religious beliefs
are seen as the only defining element of their identity. The media
contribute to this phenomenon by reporting on Muslim women mainly
as victims of so-called “honour crimes” and in relation to their
clothing. All too often, political debate and legislative action
concerning Muslim women is concentrated on the issues of the headscarf,
and even more the integral veil, instead of focusing on non-discrimination
and equal opportunities.
2. This approach does not reflect the complex reality of Muslim
women in Europe, many of whom want to be actors of change and empowerment,
and does not respond to the needs of present-day multicultural societies.
Rather than being isolated, stigmatised or confined by stereotypes,
Muslim women should be encouraged in their quest for equal opportunities
in society and provided with better instruments to play an active
role in all aspects of life.
3. Many Muslim women – migrants or their descendants – face particular
problems in the process of feminisation of migration. These problems
include, inter alia, restrictions
on family reunification and recourse to irregular migration due
to the closing of regular channels of migration.
4. To this end, a set of measures to combat discrimination, including
multiple discrimination, in access to health care, education and
employment should be introduced. Likewise, violence against women
and domestic violence – including those forms which disproportionally
affect women and girls from a Muslim background – should be tackled
through an appropriate legal and political framework, as well as
through far-reaching awareness-raising activities.
5. At the same time, positive measures should be introduced to
make it possible for Muslim women to be protagonists of their own
empowerment. Investing in education, encouraging networking and
participation in civil and public life, as well as assistance in
their professional development, are key actions needed to raise Muslim
women’s awareness of their rights and help them realise their full
potential.
6. Recalling its Resolution
1743 (2010) and Recommendation
1927 (2010) on Islam, Islamism and Islamophobia in Europe,
and its Recommendation
1975 (2011) on living together in 21st-century Europe: follow-up
to the report of the Group of Eminent Persons of the Council of
Europe, the Parliamentary Assembly reiterates that Council of Europe
member States will not abide by the fundamental values enshrined
in the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms (ETS No. 5) unless they protect human rights without discriminating
on any grounds, including gender and religion.
7. In the light of these considerations, the Assembly calls on
Council of Europe member States to:
7.1. with regard to combating discrimination:
7.1.1. introduce
an effective legal framework to combat all forms of direct and indirect discrimination,
on any grounds, and establish – if they have not already done so
– a national body to monitor the content and implementation of anti-discrimination
legislation, to advise the legislative and executive authorities
and to provide aid and assistance to victims;
7.1.2. take measures to ensure that “multiple discrimination”
is included as a notion in their legislative framework;
7.1.3. systematically condemn racist acts, discriminatory treatment,
racist speech in public discourse and the stigmatisation of any
religious community;
7.1.4. sign, ratify and implement without delay Protocol No.
12 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms (ETS No. 177);
7.1.5. protect Muslim women’s freedom to choose their clothing
in compliance with the laws of the State in which they reside, imposing
restrictions only where necessary in a democratic society to preserve
the dignity of women, to guarantee gender equality, for security
purposes or when required for the exercise of a function or for
vocational training, and ensuring that those who force women to
wear a particular item of clothing are sanctioned in a dissuasive,
effective and proportional manner;
7.1.6. encourage the media to reflect Europe’s ethnic and religious
diversity in the selection of journalists, reporters and presenters;
7.1.7. encourage the media not to limit the portrayal of Muslim
women to aspects relating to their religious beliefs and as victims
of violence, by giving more media coverage to examples of integration,
participation and their calls for equality;
7.2. with regard to integration policies and the promotion
of respect:
7.2.1. promote mutual respect among all people,
irrespective of their religious backgrounds, through education –
in particular citizenship and human rights education – and with
the organisation of awareness-raising campaigns highlighting the
benefits of diversity and, in particular:
7.2.1.1. support
the implementation of Committee of Ministers Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)7
on the Council of Europe Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and
Human Rights Education;
7.2.1.2. pursue initiatives in the field of intercultural education
relating to diversity of religions and non-religious convictions
in order to promote tolerance, mutual understanding and the culture
of “living together”, drawing on the principles set out in the Committee
of Ministers Recommendation CM/Rec(2008)12 on the dimension of religions
and non-religious convictions within intercultural education;
7.2.1.3. promote the use of the Guidelines for Educators on Countering
Intolerance and Discrimination against Muslims: Addressing Islamophobia
through Education, published by the Office for Democratic Institutions
and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Co-operation
in Europe (OSCE/ODIHR), the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Council of Europe;
7.2.2. promote Muslim women’s active empowerment, by establishing
incentives for Muslim women’s active participation in society, encouraging
the development of Muslim women’s organisations, facilitating the
creation of networks and giving visibility to women who have been successful
in European society;
7.2.3. step up efforts and allocate sufficient financial resources
for the implementation of integration policies at the local level
through a comprehensive strategy including awareness-raising activities
and specific training on diversity for law-enforcement officials,
mayors and public administration staff members;
7.2.4. promote family reunification policies and access to nationality
and dual nationality for migrants and their descendants as a means
of integration and ensure that there is no discrimination in terms
of gender, religion or ethnicity in the implementation of the laws
and rules relating to these policies;
7.2.5. ensure that all girls, including Muslim girls, have access
to all levels of education and that they dispose of support structures
to help them remain in education;
7.2.6. in co-operation with non-governmental organisations, develop
specific training programmes for older Muslim women who wish to
access employment to gain skills and qualifications;
7.2.7. set up special scholarships and programmes to encourage
girls and women to pursue vocational and university education and
ensure that information about them is widely available;
7.2.8. allocate sufficient funds for the teaching of the language
of the host country where appropriate;
7.2.9. impose effective, proportional and dissuasive sanctions
for cases of discrimination in access to employment and in the workplace;
7.2.10. develop awareness-raising campaigns and introduce dissuasive
sanctions for government agencies and banks in order to combat discrimination
against Muslim women in the allocation of loans and grants for business
start-ups;
7.2.11. encourage political parties to reflect Europe’s diversity
in the choice of their candidates for elections;
7.3. with regard to combating violence against women:
7.3.1. sign and ratify, for those that have not yet done so,
the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence
against Women and Domestic Violence (CETS No. 210);
7.3.2. condemn any reference to honour as a justification for
violent acts;
7.3.3. ensure the protection of women in Europe from violence,
regardless of their religion, cultural background or nationality,
or regular or irregular migrant status;
7.4. with regard to access to health:
7.4.1. make information
on maternal care and reproductive health available in the languages of
the population concerned;
7.4.2. ensure, whenever possible, the presence of interpreters
in health facilities providing emergency and maternal health care;
7.4.3. provide training on cultural diversity for health professionals
while ensuring that the functioning of the health system is not
disrupted by patients’ religious customs.
8. The Assembly calls on Muslim religious leaders to:
8.1. publicly condemn violence against
women, domestic violence and so-called “honour crimes”;
8.2. issue public statements explaining that the practice of
female genital mutilation is not a requirement of the Muslim faith.