The Diplomat
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, dedicated yesterday, International Women’s Day, to stage the feminist foreign policy of his Department by meeting with Afghan women residing in Spain and with representatives of the Association of Spanish Diplomatic Women, the Junior Female Leaders association and the Ministry’s Delegate Bureau for Equality.
“The feminist foreign policy that Spain promotes is still as necessary as ever, it is a hallmark of our foreign action,” Albares stated through a video disseminated through the Ministry’s social networks.
“Spain promotes gender equality and defends the rights of women and girls in all parts of the world, in all areas, in all circumstances,” he continued. “We work with women and promote their leadership in public life and in the different sectors of the economy” and, for that reason, it is excellent news that the last two promotions of the Diplomatic Career in Spain have been, respectively, the first parity in history and the first with more women than men,” the minister recalled.
“Our foreign policy is feminist by conviction, by the demand of our society, for the rights of women in Iran or Afghanistan, where they are being annulled in one of the worst moments for women in these countries, with unacceptable and unbearable setbacks in their dignity and freedom,” warned the Minister of Foreign Affairs. “Spain will continue to be at the forefront of the defense of equality in all parts of the world, working for women and girls to achieve equality that benefits all our societies, and our victory in this area is certain, because half of the world you are women and the other half we are your children,” he concluded.
Apart from these words, Albares began yesterday with a meeting with the Junior Female Leaders association, at the Ministry’s headquarters in Plaza del Marqués de Salamanca in Madrid. During the meeting with this association – founded in November 2020 by its current president, Spanish diplomat Alejandra Fernández, to increase the participation of young female leaders in international relations and global governance – the minister addressed “Spain’s feminist foreign policy and how to encourage the participation of young women in international politics,” as reported through her official Twitter account. “We need the voice and action of women in international, European and cooperation policy,” he added.
Later, Albares held a meeting with the Association of Spanish Diplomatic Women (AMDE) and with union representatives of the Equality Commission to continue advancing equality within the Ministry. AMDE, chaired by Carmen Cano, brings together 60% of Spanish women diplomats and aspires to bring together all women in the Diplomatic Career, regardless of their professional status, to develop its five areas of work: a more egalitarian Diplomatic Career, a foreign policy with a gender approach, greater conciliation, more training and the creation of alliances with other similar foreign associations.
Afghanistan
José Manuel Albares’ day of feminist diplomacy concluded, also at the Ministry’s headquarters, with a meeting with Afghan women living in Spain. “Spain will continue to raise its voice for the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan, and for the education of girls and boys, key to guaranteeing their future,” Albares declared via Twitter. “I have reiterated this to the Afghan women I met with today. They have our support,” he added.
Precisely, the Government assured last February 20, in a written parliamentary response Ciudadanos (published this past Monday), that Spain’s humanitarian action in Afghanistan “prioritizes the rights of women and girls and is channeled through the humanitarian actors of the United Nations system (UNICEF, UNFPA and UN Women) who are implementing creative solutions in education and health circumventing the restrictive decrees of the Taliban.”
“Spain maintains regular contacts with the Taliban political office in Doha, through its ambassador for Afghan Affairs,” it continued. Likewise, “one of the mechanisms for coordinating positions between like-minded states has been established in Doha, in which up to fifteen ambassadors participate, including Spain’s ambassador for Afghan Affairs,” it continued. “These contacts do not imply the recognition of that de facto government, but they allow us to communicate the positions of Spain and these countries, both bilaterally and jointly, and to establish a minimum political dialogue, as well as to follow up on the humanitarian and political activities of the United Nations in Afghanistan,” it assured.
“In all these meetings, the rights of Afghan women are a permanent item on the agenda, both because of the seriousness of the situation of women in Afghanistan and because of the wide range of situations regulated by these authorities to the detriment of women’s rights and Afghanistan’s international obligations in terms of human rights: freedom of movement, clothing, right to work, legal personality, right to receive humanitarian assistance, access to justice, access to education, access to information, press and academic freedom, freedom of expression, assembly, association, protection of vulnerable groups, gender-based violence, to name only the most serious,” it added.
