The most favoured European Woman Clause
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Story by
Violaine Lucas
The purpose of the most favoured European Woman Rule is to impose on Europe the recognition of equality between men and women. Such equality in all areas must, indeed, be expressly stated as a value of the European Union, like freedom, democracy and State of law. Evidently, one should not be satisfied with mentioning equality between men and women in the objectives of the European Union.
Such equality should be asserted as a fundamental value. This is one of the aims of the Rules, which intend to offer European women the best legislative status drawn from the laws most favourable to their emancipation in each country. This legislative system has a sole ambition: allowing women to live in dignity and as equals with men -in rights and facts- in a socially and humanly progressive Europe.
The principle of the most favoured European Woman Rule
How were the most favoured European Woman Rules developed? We have started with an analysis of laws and practices in such areas as: -The choice to give life; -Family law; -The fight against violence exercised on women; -The working place; -Political representation.
From this analysis, we have selected, in the 27 European countries, the laws, which are the most favourable to women.
The fundamental principles that have guided our choices were linked to the respect of women’s dignity: women must choose freely to give life. All means to ensure women’s economical independence must be guaranteed and the unacceptable, the violence against women, must be refused. They must also be full-fledged citizens, on a political level. In certain countries, we have noted serious lacks with regards to the above-mentioned principles. On the contrary, other European countries demonstrate their will to move forward regarding the defence of women’s rights. From the existing laws in these countries, we have developed the most favoured European Woman Rules. Thanks to these Rules, each woman in Europe shall claim the same rights as any other European woman. Such equalisation of women’s rights shall benefit to European society, men themselves will take advantage of these legal fundamentals. The Rules shall therefore be the legal foundation continuingly levelling women’s rights up.