The international membership of the Democratic Party puts out this statement, not to react, but to reaffirm. Equality still matters, and it must never be taken for granted.
We speak as Democrats, Luxembourgers, Europeans and citizens of countries around the world who call Luxembourg home, who live and work in one of the most open and diverse societies in the world. We speak for the many people, especially women, who remain underrepresented in our shared decision-making, and who trust this party to stand for their right to be heard.
Equality is not a side issue; it is the condition of democracy itself.
Feminism is not an ideology of division. It is the belief that freedom is only complete when everyone can participate in shaping it. To defend women’s rights is to defend democracy itself, because no democracy can truly call itself free while half of its people remain unheard.
As Simone Veil reminded Europe half a century ago, the dignity and autonomy of women are not negotiable. They are the foundation upon which modern democracy rests. We honour that legacy, and we carry it forward.
Feminism is the daily courage of inclusion, and inclusion is the lifeblood of liberal democracy.
We are proud to be engaged members of a social-liberal party that believes progress is built through dialogue, not division. To be near people means to listen: to the woman who works two jobs, to the newcomer learning Luxembourgish, to the young person who wonders if politics still has room for them.
A democracy that includes only some will, in time, speak for no one.
We stand with movements everywhere that defend women’s rights, equality, and freedom, and we are concerned by the growing attempts, here and elsewhere, to turn back that progress.
Our response must not be withdrawal, but engagement.
That is what we stand for, together, as Democrats.
The Board
DP International