(Brussels) “We cannot respond to the challenges of terrorism, radicalisation, war and poverty without true gender equality. It is only by empowering women to express all their potential in all areas that the world will be safer, fairer and more prosperous”. The President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, said this on the occasion of International Women’s Day. He went on to say: “It is also for this reason that the European Parliament has repeatedly conferred its most prestigious prize – the Sakharov Prize – on courageous women who are role models in the fight for the protection of their rights”. Today Mr Tajani will meet Sakharov Prize laureates Lamya Haji Bashar, a member of the Kurdish-speaking Yazidi minority, and Nigerian human rights lawyer Hauwa Ibrahim, who were both invited to the European Parliament to mark Women’s Day. In the past few days, President Tajani took a firm stance on the issue after an unacceptable attack on gender equality by an MEP. “He offended all women, violating our fundamental values. I will not tolerate such remarks, which are all the more serious since they were made by someone who should, with dignity, represent the peoples of Europe”. This afternoon the president will deliver the opening speech at the Interparliamentary Committee Meeting on 8 March on “Women’s economic empowerment: let’s act together”.