“With regard to recent developments in the Arab world, we are campaigning for the revolutionary changes underway there also to be used to strengthen the rights of women. Women were involved in the protest movements; they should now enjoy the same right as men to participate in the establishment of new structures.
For democracies to be viable in the long term, respect for human and women’s rights is indispensable. Sustainable development can only be achieved if women and girls are taken into consideration and actually involved. This means giving them equal access to schools, vocational training and opportunities to work, equal rights within their families and also the right to participate in society and politics.
It is essential now to consider the commitment shown by the courageous women whose long years of work in the affected countries constitute a significant contribution to what has been happening there. Supporting that commitment is an important German foreign policy objective.”