Politics

The women’s right to their own body

Today, Sweden has some of the highest levels of gender equality in the world but with that comes responsibilities. It commits us Swedish politicians to bring the struggle for equality into the world, for all those women who don´t have the same rights and freedoms as women in Sweden do.

All around Europe and the world women aren’t able to enjoy many of the rights and freedoms we take for granted in Sweden. We can see this by looking at countries such as Poland and Malta where women aren´t allowed free, legal abortions. This is a black mark for modern European countries. For me it is crystal-clear that it is every woman’s right to choose whether to complete or end a pregnancy, for me it is a fundamental human right.

The right to equal life chances

It´s also obvious that old and outdated expectations of how women should live their lives limits many of their life choices, because women still take the bulk of the responsibility for unpaid work in the household.

Half of all EU citizens are women and I refuse to accept that a large share of these are born into lives with a lack of opportunities, lower wages and higher levels of insecurity. The consolidated inequality in our societies brings negative consequences for the individual, the country and the whole of the European Union.

High time to strengthen women’s rights

Men’s superiority to women, unequal wages, the culture of honour, abortion resistance, and all the violence against women must come to an end. As a Member of the European Parliament, on a daily basis, I continue the struggle to strengthen women’s rights in Europe. In the sub-sections you can read more about my work.