DiEM25 in the Netherlands is organizing an interactive panel on gender equality in The Hague on the occasion of International Women’s Day, featuring Lyne Ismail, Besan Zarzar and Melita Miletic
To mark International Women’s Day, DiEM25 in the Netherlands has invited Lyne Ismail (founder of FLINTA Football), Besan Zarzar (journalist at RFG Magazine) and Melita Miletic (activist) to discuss what still needs to be done to achieve real gender equality in the Netherlands.
The panel discussion ‘How far have we come? – Celebrating International Women’s Day’ will take place on Saturday, March 9, from 15:00 to 17:00 (CET) at Grand Café Utopie, The Hague, and everyone is free to join.
During the panel discussion, DiEM25 members and the panellists will discuss how much has been achieved in women’s rights and how much still needs to be done: at work, at home, in sports, sexually and socially. In doing so, the panellists bring their own background and perspective: from the sports field to newsrooms and from Palestine to Croatia.
In the Netherlands, there are several organisations doing great work for gender equality. The aim of the March 9 event is to take a first step towards solidarity between existing organisations while fostering a grassroots women’s movement. We take stock of where we are now and where we need to go to achieve gender equality.
“DiEM25 sees that solidarity is needed at the grassroots level and between all organisations doing good work for gender equality,” said Lucille Cornelius, spokesperson for DiEM25 in the Netherlands.
“The aim of the event is to start the conversation and bring everyone who cares about gender equality around the table. We believe that more than ever, there is a need for a unified voice that rises above the noise of populism and patriarchy!”
About the panellists
Lyne Ismail: Founder and Head Coach of FLINTA Football. FLINTA stands for Female, Lesbian, Intersex, Nonbinary, Trans, Agender. FLINTA Football is a space in Amsterdam for all women across the spectrum: across identity, ethnicity, or ability, to develop in their football journey as players, coaches and referees. Before Lyne started FLINTA Football she studied Sport Science & Management and did a minor in Gender and Diversity. She has been a football coach for over seven years and was an assistant coach with the Pakistan Women’s National Team in the summer of 2023.
Besan Zarzar: Palestinian by identity, a Damascene in her heart, and now Dutch by passport. Besan was forced to flee Syria in 2015 after the war broke out that tore up the country. She never had Syrian citizenship as her grandparents were Palestinian that had to flee from Israeli colonization in Palestine. In Syria she finished her training as a journalist and after coming the Netherlands and learning Dutch she now writes for RFG Magazine.
Melita Miletic: Lived in Croatia, United Kingdom and the Netherlands. As an activist she worked with disabled people and fought for human rights. As a mother of two daughters she sees and is disturbed by the fall of our humanity and compromised political systems across the world. Her response to the current state of our world is: “when injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.”
Event details
- Saturday, March 9, 15:00 – 17:00 (CET)
- Grand Café Utopie, The Hague
- Panel discussion: How far have we come? – Celebrating International Women’s Day
- Open to everyone
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