What Abir spoke about.

17

Jun

2026

Speeches EN

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Resumption of the sitting

Mr President, I just wanted to say that I have never felt as unsafe in this Parliament as after the vote about the Return Regulation, because the shouting of the far right was not against the political opponent, it was 'send them back'. It was about ordinary people who did no other crime than looking for a better life in Europe, and shouting about ordinary people who are not present in the room, it is a new, new low level even for the fascists on the far right. And I hope that you, as Chair of the sessions, also take care about our safety here in the Chamber and stop that kind of behaviour, because that is far beyond what racism is, far beyond what hatred is against ordinary people who have not done anything but come here to Europe to seek for a better life. We can have a political debate, we can argue against it ...

16

Jun

2026

Answers EN

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The role of the EU in efforts for peace and stability throughout the Middle East after the announced deal between the US and Iran (debate)

A very good question. Thank you for this question. I do believe that the EU and the Member States together in the UN can push further for the reform of the UN, because the UN has not served everyone equally. We see it in the Global South, the global majority in the South, how they have been underserved, how their interests, their human rights have not been implemented nor have they been guaranteed by all these beautiful declarations. We know that statements, press releases and declarations do not stop bombs from falling. We know that they do not feed the starving children. We need to reform the UN. It is our only path forward, and the Member States together can actually make a true difference.

16

Jun

2026

Speeches EN

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The role of the EU in efforts for peace and stability throughout the Middle East after the announced deal between the US and Iran (debate)

Madam President, peace requires courage, peace requires leadership, and peace requires actions. The deal between the US and the regime in Iran might offer an opportunity for peace. But opportunities alone do not create peace; we have to act now. We have to use our diplomatic influence to reduce the tensions throughout the entire region of the Middle East. We have to use our economic and political leverage to pressure and to support peace, accountability and human rights. And we have to defend international law – always! Madam Vice‑President, I am tired of watching old men destroy the international rules‑based order. I am furious that they start wars, uphold occupation, weaponise humanitarian aid, while they enjoy wealth, while they enjoy impunity, while they enjoy power. I am furious that it is always the others who are paying the price for this craziness. It's always women, children, persons with disabilities, who never chose these wars, who never were in these rooms where these decisions were made. We have to act now. It's high time for the EU to put these words into actions.

20

May

2026

Speeches EN

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Situation of women and girls in Afghanistan following the Taliban's adoption of the Criminal Procedure Code for Courts

Mr President, what kind of a regime punishes an abused woman for seeking help and then punishes the friend that dared to help her? This is not a criminal code, this is simply terror put into words. Under the Taliban regime, women are beaten to silence, erased from schools, from workplaces, from public life. This is nothing but a gender apartheid. And despite all that, the EU invites the Taliban regime for talks on migration. Why? Because certain parts of Europe are obsessed with migration. That is why the same forces who pretend here to defend women's rights in Europe are the forces who are ready to legitimise a regime that imprisons women in their own lives. It is time to stop this hypocrisy, and it is high time to make gender apartheid a crime against humanity and to put all those responsible for the death and imprisonment of women, for their oppression, in The Hague where they belong. It is time for accountability, not legitimacy, of the Taliban regime.

20

May

2026

Speeches SV

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Recruitment of children by organised crime (debate)

Madam President, thank you very much. Commissioner, thank you very much. In Sweden, we see criminal gangs chasing our children. In school, on football practice, on Instagram and Tiktok. But what is the response of the Swedish government and the far right here? Yes, they want to lock up thirteen-year-olds. Children who today are used by the criminal gangs as a throwaway in the criminal wars of adults. This is not a force for action. This is pure desperation. Ask the judges. Ask the prosecutors. Ask the social services. Ask the police. Everyone says the same thing. This will not prevent the criminal gangs from recruiting children, on the contrary, this will lead to the lowering of ages even further. We have to break the gangs, yes. But we must build a society that is stronger than the gangs. Sweden and the EU can do more than give up hope for children. Sweden and the EU can do more than lock up thirteen-year-olds. What we need is to criminalise and treat online child recruitment such as: terrorist content. That's what we need to do. I will never accept that we start treating children as consumables.

20

May

2026

Questions EN

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Recruitment of children by organised crime (debate)

Thank you, colleague. Would you agree with me, then, and say that the same rules that you want to apply to these children who are hunted by the criminal gangs – when they are Italians, hunted by the Mafia – would you then also say about these Italian children that their families are not welcome, or that their families are criminal? Because I do believe that the Mafia is deeply rooted in the Italian culture. Would you say that it is an Italian characteristic to be a mafioso, then? The same logic applies.

27

Apr

2026

Answers EN

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Importance of consent-based rape legislation in the EU (debate)

My dad taught me once that when a person lacks arguments, then they look for the seeds of the watermelon in the garbage. This is exactly that kind of debate. Why don't you let everyone decide what they are? It's not your role as a politician to identify people – it's not your role! Do you know what your role is? What your responsibility is? Give us protection! Only 'yes' means yes, everything else is rape. That's it.

27

Apr

2026

Speeches EN

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Importance of consent-based rape legislation in the EU (debate)

Madam President, stop hiding behind legal jargon. Stop hiding behind your pretended care for women. Just stop it. Because this is very simple, straight-to-the-point legislation. We are just asking that only yes means yes. The lack of it, therefore, means no. The lack of it, therefore, is rape – no matter what the colour of the man is, no matter the age, the length, the width. Men are raping. Men are violating. Men are the ones who are taking control over women's bodies. If you don't believe me, ask the 62 million viewers who watched wives and girlfriends being drugged and raped and streamed online. Ask them. This is not the defence of rule of law. This is not the defence and protection of women. Yet you turn this into migration somehow. It's amazing. You know what? You have already chosen sides and we as women collectively are tired of your racism, of your sexism, of your lack of responsibility. We are tired of you. Just take responsibility for once. If you cannot say that only yes means yes, then you have chosen the side of the rapists.

25

Mar

2026

Speeches EN

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Order of business

Madam President, I want to draw this House's attention to a shocking case: a woman in Malta was sentenced to prison after going to hospital with heavy bleeding, and instead of receiving medical care, she was reported to the police. Just think about that for a moment. A woman seeking medical attention was treated as a criminal. Her sentence must be immediately overturned – because not in Malta, not in Europe a hospital must ever become the first step to a prison cell. Criminalising abortion does not end abortion; it only puts women's lives in danger, and that has no place in Europe.

10

Mar

2026

Speeches EN

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Establishing an EU talent pool (A10-0045/2025 - Abir Al-Sahlani) (vote)

Madam President, the talent pool is the tool our businesses have long awaited. It is the clearest example of what we, together in this House, can achieve when reason prevails and when we listen to our companies and businesses. It is rooted in the understanding, also, that migration is not just a challenge, but could be a part of a solution. At a time when irregular migration has significantly decreased, let us instead reinforce our legal pathways. Read the legislation just once and you will see: this is about addressing labour shortages that cannot be filled at the national level or EU level. I want to express my deepest gratitude to all shadows who have supported me. Together, we have done outstanding work to bring forward this innovative tool and to strengthen Europe's competitiveness.

10

Mar

2026

Speeches EN

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International Women’s Day

Madam President, today we heard the story of Nicole Fox and the courage of her mother, Jackie. The fight reminds us of a difficult truth: violence against women does not always leave bruises and marks. It spreads through screens, through humiliation, through images weaponised to shame and silence girls and women, generated without consent and replicated at massive scale. What happened to Nicole was not an isolated tragedy. Across Europe, misogyny is organised and amplified online, because that is exactly where the anti-gender movement thrives. And misogyny – that is normalised by some in this House who refuse to vote for women's rights every single time this Parliament decided to act. But Europe must act. Our laws must be enforced. Platforms must remove abusive content faster – or rather, never allow it to be uploaded. Digital violence against women must be recognised for what it is: violence. Because girls in Europe must never pay that price.

9

Mar

2026

Speeches EN

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Gender pay and pension gap in the EU: state of play, challenges and the way forward, and developing guidelines for the better evaluation and fairer remuneration of work in female-dominated sectors (debate)

Madam President, yesterday we celebrated the progress on women's rights, but today we have to confront the backlash because across Europe an anti‑gender movement is growing, spreading conspiracy theories about feminism and attacking women's rights. And yes, we see it here in the Chamber because the patterns of the vote is always the same: you say you want to protect women, but when we vote, you always vote against protection from violence. You say you want to defend women's dignity, but when we vote, you attack reproductive rights. And tomorrow, when we vote on closing the gender pay gap, many of you once again will vote against it. So, let us be very honest about what this is: women are paid less, receive smaller pensions and carry the unpaid care work that are keeping our societies running. Yet, some of you still weaponise women's suffering to serve racist and misogynistic agendas, turning our bodies into your ideological battlefields in your cultural wars. Europe's women are not your propaganda, our bodies are not your battlefield and our rights are not negotiable.

11

Feb

2026

Speeches EN

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Systemic oppression, inhumane conditions and arbitrary detentions by the regime in Iran

Mr President, we are not witnessing strength in Iran. What we are witnessing is fear – a regime terrified by its own young women, terrified by students, terrified of a generation that has stopped being afraid. In the hospitals, medical workers are reporting that they are walking in blood. Dead young bodies are arriving to the morgues faster than what hope can do. This is what regimes do when they know their power is slipping away – they shoot their own children. To the mullahs, to the Revolutionary Guard: you can imprison bodies, but you will never be able to imprison history. Your crimes against humanity are documented and they will be prosecuted. You will answer in the International Criminal Court. See you in The Hague.

10

Feb

2026

Answers EN

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Presentation of the action plan against cyberbullying (debate)

Thank you so much, Mr Sieper for your question, it is a very considerate one. Of course, I am checking a lot of the boxes: I am a woman, I consider myself still younger, I am of a migrant background and I am also a Muslim. So, I am ticking a lot of the boxes that correspond to who are the victims. What it makes me feel is that we need to work harder on this issue, we need to work on all levels, and we need to actually hold the platforms accountable because freedom of speech has never been about making me feel like less of a human.

10

Feb

2026

Speeches SV

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Presentation of the action plan against cyberbullying (debate)

10

Feb

2026

Speeches EN

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Situation in Northeast Syria, the violence against civilians and the need to maintain a sustainable ceasefire (debate)

Mr President, somehow, a debate about the dire situation in Syria has turned into a migration debate by the far right. That's amazing. But President, dear colleagues, when al-Sharaa took power, we all accepted him with a very bitter taste. So today I'm standing here in Kurdish traditional dress to honour the Kurdish women and the people who have paid a very high price for their freedom. When they answered our call for help in trying to face Daesh, ISIS – the most horrible terror organisation, they were not only defending their homes, but they were also defending our freedom. Kurds are asking for our help now. The roles are reversed. Protection that is denied is injustice. And injustice that is postponed is a justice that is denied. Kurdish women are not left alone even when dead, because when they die, the terrorists cut off their braids. The attacks on the Kurdish areas have to stop now. A ceasefire has to come now. And the de facto siege on Kobani has to be lifted now. Kurds: we see you; we hear you; you have more friends than the mountains in the European Parliament.

20

Jan

2026

Speeches EN

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Brutal repression against protesters in Iran (debate)

Mr President, woman, life, freedom. Three words that shook the world. Today, they echo again through the courage of the Iranian people who are fighting on the streets. Yet we as Europeans have not raised to their courage as we did before. Am I angry with the grey, half-hearted statements by the European Union? No, I am profoundly furious. Be concrete – offer humanitarian visas for activists. Break the internet blockade. Designate the IRGC as a terrorist organisation. Engage with the democratic opposition in Iran to facilitate a democratic transition and invoke responsibility to protect the UN Security Council. These are not radical demands. They are our obligations because history will not judge us by our statements, but by whether we stood with courage or hid behind procedure while people were killed, because silence kills also.

19

Jan

2026

Speeches SV

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, thank you very much. When we politicians were home over Christmas, to celebrate with our loved ones and rest, evil and violence struck against women in Sweden. Two women were killed by two men, one in their own home and one on their way home. Children witnessed violence in their own safe environments – or what should be safe environments. The lines to the women's shelters and children's rights organisations were warm. It happens every Christmas. It is not unpredictable and it is proof of the Swedish government's failure to maintain any kind of protection system, including over leave, for women in these violent organisations. Regardless of the protection system or the laws that we write, I have to turn to the men. It takes men. Men who dare to speak out against sexism, men who dare to build security and men who choose to stand on the side of women. If not the men, then who? Women do not choose to be killed, but men can choose to stand up to sexism and violence against women.

19

Jan

2026

Speeches EN

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Humanitarian aid in a time of polycrisis – reaffirming our principles for a more effective and ambitious response to humanitarian crises (short presentation)

Mr President, I would like also to start by giving my condolences to the people of Spain due to the horrible accident that has happened in the country. Madam Commissioner, thank you for being here and thank you for always promising and for delivering on your promises. And this will be an urge to continue to deliver on the promises that you have made, especially when it comes to the humanitarian aid and fragility context. I know that we are looking forward to a new strategy from your side, because never before has international humanitarian law been so challenged. Never before have humanitarian workers being killed in these numbers. Never before have humanitarian organisations been doubted, questioned, but also prosecuted by big international players. Never before has the UN lost so much. So, Europe, the EU and you finally are actually the last force standing. Consider this report a strength to you as well. We, the people, are saying that we have to stand up for international humanitarian law.

17

Dec

2025

Speeches EN

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Mass kidnapping of children in Nigeria, including from St Mary's Catholic school in Papiri

Madam President, while many children go to school, play with their friends and count down to the holidays, children in Nigeria live in fear of abduction and violence. As a mother, my heart breaks into million pieces. As a politician, I am furious. Families are pleading for international action and we must not look away. These attacks are a grave violation of international law and of children's fundamental rights. Every act of impunity fuels the next abduction, and this has to have an end now. We must better tackle the root causes of instability, extremist violence and resource‑driven conflict, and fight climate change. Children should not fear going to school. Let us take this fight together so that one day we can wish all children everywhere not just a peaceful holiday, but a future free from fear.

17

Dec

2025

Speeches EN

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The urgent need to combat discrimination in the EU through the horizontal anti-discrimination directive (topical debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, Council, we have been building a Europe that excludes, a Europe that is not accessible for everyone, a Europe that discriminates with its structures and systems. We have built a Europe that is not for every European, and there is a debt to be paid by us back to all our citizens. Not only because it is about democracy, human rights and social justice, but because we are losing out on competition. We are losing out on income for the European Union. The cost of not having the legislation in place amounts to EUR 1.3 billion. And by extending protection beyond employment, this directive would improve access to education, housing, healthcare, transport and services for elderly people, persons with disabilities, religious and ethnic minorities and LGBTIQ+ persons. Ensuring equal treatment across these groups is not only a matter of fundamental rights, as I said, but also of economic common sense. Discrimination wastes talent. It shrinks markets and holds back growth. This directive is about fairness, but it is also about making Europe stronger, more competitive and more inclusive. We need this directive, and we need it yesterday.

17

Dec

2025

Speeches EN

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European Citizens’ Initiative ‘My voice, my choice: for safe and accessible abortion’ (B10-0557/2025, B10-0558/2025, B10-0560/2025, B10-0563/2025, B10-0564/2025) (vote)

Madam President, it came as a surprise to us who have been working with this text and resolution for a while that there was an alternative resolution invoking the principles of subsidiarity, given that the Commission has already stated that this Citizens' Initiative falls within the EU competence in relation to cross-border health services. Subsidiarity does not appear to be an issue for Mr Bellamy and company when the Commission proposed the EU financial incentives for cross-border support to cancer screenings within the EU4Health programme. That's why I would like to introduce an oral amendment as follows: 'Recalls that in its Decision on the registration of the ECI, the Commission stated that "there seems to be no straightforward targeted interference with the competences of Member States to define their own health policy and the organisation of their health services by the simple fact of providing financial support to provide this type of health service"; recalls that according to the Treaty, "The European Parliament and the Council … may also adopt measures designed to protect and improve human health and in particular to combat the major cross-border health scourges"; highlights that EU resources have been used to directly finance or co-finance health services in the Member States in other cases, within the EU's supporting competences;'. This oral amendment is done just to clarify and add to the facts of the alternative resolution.

16

Dec

2025

Speeches EN

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European Citizens’ Initiative ‘My voice, my choice: for safe and accessible abortion’ (debate)

Mr President, 'My voice, my choice' exists because women in Poland are dying. Because women in Malta are treated as criminals. Because in Italy, access to abortion is only on paper, but in reality, it's blocked. Because in Hungary and in Slovakia, women's rights are being pushed back systematically under the banner of 'tradition'. 'My voice, my choice' exists because right-wing politicians in this House have been spending years blocking, delaying and denying women's rights. The result of that is women depending on borders. The result of that is freedom being conditioned just because you are a woman. 'My voice, my choice' is the citizens calling out our lack of leadership. Millions are saying to us, 'our bodies are not your battleground.' To those who still oppose this initiative: your ideology does not outweigh women's rights. Your discomfort does not triumph over fundamental rights for women. Let me be very clear: there is nothing responsible in endangering women's lives. One out of three women in the EU will at some point an abortion in her life – meaning your sister, your wife, your colleague. Criminalising abortion or making it inaccessible means putting women's lives in danger. 'My voice, my choice' is democracy knocking on your door, and history will remember who answered and who looked away. You can no longer claim that you support equality while voting against it in practice. So choose: stand with women or stand exposed, because a Europe that compromises on women's bodies is a Europe that has already compromised its soul. If Europe can protect banks, borders, budgets, then it can protect women. If Europe can fund roads, bridges and weapons, then it can also fund women's healthcare. Act, listen to the citizens and stop sacrificing women's rights to old-fashioned fears. Because a Europe that controls women's bodies is not a Union of values; it is a Union in retreat. Because a Europe that controls women's bodies is not a democracy – it's a warning.

26

Nov

2025

Speeches EN

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Post-election killings and the deteriorating human rights situation in Tanzania, including the case of imprisoned opposition leader Tundu Lissu

Mr President, what we are witnessing in Tanzania is not the aftermath after elections, but a national tragedy. On 29 October, President Samia Suluhu Hassan crowned herself with a victory of 97 % of the votes after silencing the very people who challenged her. When citizens rose up – especially the young – they were met with bullets, brutality and a blockade on truth. Hundreds killed, hundreds injured, hundreds arrested – the entire country living in fear. Let us say his name clearly: Tundu Lissu, the opposition leader charged with treason, locked away simply because he exercised his democratic right to run for election. His imprisonment is a broader assault on democracy in Tanzania that is taking away all the promises to the Tanzanian people of their freedom. To the Tanzanian people: we have heard you. We are on your side. This House has chosen to stand by you.

25

Nov

2025

Speeches EN

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International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (debate)

Madam President, we stand in orange and we stand in fury. We are furious because still women are controlled, beaten, raped and murdered by men in the EU. Let me be very, very clear: this is not a woman's problem. Gender-based violence is a man's problem. And to the men in this Chamber, and beyond, unless you choose building safety over staying in your comfort zone, nothing will change. Unless you choose respect over dominance, nothing will change. Unless you are the ones who change the norms among the male population – call out that friend's sexist joke, challenge the lies, call out your uncle's shitty opinions about women around the Christmas dinner table. We wear orange for hope, but hope means nothing, if you are not courageous enough to look in the mirror and see how you yourself have been enabling gender-based violence.