T. Taliashvili: « the European Parliament’s elections will give an indicative direction to Georgia »
Ms. Tamar Taliashvili, Vice-President of the National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia (NALAG), Vice-President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and Councilor of Tbilisi Assembly gave a speech at the event “Power2Her” which was held in Brussels on 6 March.
The conference was organised by the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) and the European Women’s Lobby in Brussels. It was held for the purpose of encouraging women candidates to the upcoming European Parliament elections to ensure equal representation at EU level: at the European level, only one third of Members of the European Parliament are women.
During the conference, the main emphasis was made on the importance of equal representation of women and men on policy-defining positions and high standards of democracy.
Ms. Taliashvili talked about the experience of Georgia, as well as the reforms implemented in terms of women’s rights and highlighted the role of electing the first woman president in the region.
The vice-President of NALAG encouraged Europe to continue showing the example of equality, an essential value for human rights. She stated: “I represent the country which proved its loyalty to the European principles. The EU is a flagship of democracy. The value of equality reflected in the European Parliament’s elections will give an indicative direction to Georgia and other pro-European states.”
« Europe must send a sign that gender equality is a value, is a human right, » she also said. She later quoted the American poet, singer and civil rights activist Maya Angelou: « I come as one, but stand as 10,000. »
For more information, discover the new CEMR study, “Women in politics”. It provides deep and disturbing insight into the political representation of women, at all levels of governance – local, regional, national and European – between 2008 and 2018.
(Picture: © Bernal Revert/ BR&U for CEMR)
