For women's rights – here and all around the world

Equal rights, respect and appreciation – on the International Women's Day on March 8th, the HZDR wants to remind people that such supposedly self-evident values are by no means lived out everywhere in the world. We are shocked to see the systematic oppression of women and girls in many countries, such as Iran and Afghanistan. We strongly condemn such human rights violations. Our full solidarity goes to all people who work for freedom worldwide – especially women and girls who fight for the right to education, self-determination and freedom of expression.

Nevertheless, we too have to keep asking ourselves whether we actually live equal opportunities – not just on March 8th, but every day anew. We tend too quickly to praise ourselves on action days, to highlight individual cases and to overlook our own shortcomings. Equal opportunities and gender equality are central concerns of HZDR. We want to achieve them by creating an equal and non-discriminatory environment so that all employees can develop their talents. We are aware that we have not yet achieved the goals we have set ourselves, for example for the number of women in management positions.

That's why we promise to do our utmost to build an equal opportunity society. The HZDR wishes all women congratulations on International Women's Day.