The Indo-Mediterranean is volatile and in conflict with wars raging from Yemen, to Somalia, from Syria to Pakistan. The geopolitical volatality affects the weakest and most vulnerable individuals, especially women and children. The world is also connected, with the effects of radicalization being felt in Europe and South Asia with extremism, anti-semitism and terrorism as well as indoctrination of youth more rampant. To discuss this a side event is being held at the United Nations Human Rights Council’s 60th session.
“The Indo-Mediterranean is the key geopolitical region for trade and transport of goods, however it is the most affected by the wars around. As we near the anniversary of the 7th october hamas terrorist attacks on israel, we have understood better that terror is interconnected, from Iran to Lebanon, from yemen to Syria. However we are also not immune. It is the same terrorist organizations that fundraise in Europe, radicalise youth and plan terrorist attacks in India”, said Vas Shenoy, the President of Glocal Cities.
Himanshu Gulati, a member of Norway’s Storting, captured the scope of the threat. “Rising Islamic extremism is a worrying trend, be it in South Asia or in Europe,” he warned. “Today we see conflict in the entire Indo-Mediterranean region in a strongly interconnected world. While terrorism from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Syria, Yemen doesn’t only affect their own regions, it also echoes back in the rights and future of vulnerable groups, especially women and children in Europe as well. We have to find a solution to protect the weakest among us.”
That echo is unmistakable. The indoctrination of children in Bangladeshi madrassas, the abduction of minority girls in Pakistan, and the Taliban’s suffocating restrictions in Afghanistan reverberate far beyond their borders. The violence and ideology migrate, shaping the streets and suburbs of Europe.
Anna Maria Cisint, a member of the European Parliament, described what happens when political Islam dominates. “In countries where political Islam holds power, fundamental rights are systematically denied: equality between men and women is erased, and political and civil freedoms are restricted. Islamic theocracy is the vehicle used to impose a message contrary to the principles of dignity and freedom.”
Her warning was not limited to distant regimes. “Political Islam also carries with it a declared will to conquer and impose Quranic laws on Europe, with the aim of undermining democratic institutions and replacing the foundations of our civilization with the dictates of Sharia. The signs, now evident, can be seen in the serious episodes of women’s subjugation we witness every day in our cities, where young girls and adolescents are forced by their families to live inside Islamic cages. Europe, if it wants to remain a continent of civilization and freedom, must firmly defend and protect its founding principles and values, and there can be no room for radicalization.”
These signs are indeed evident: grooming gangs exposed in the UK, radical networks in France and Germany, and families enforcing restrictions on daughters in the name of tradition. Too often, authorities have looked away out of fear of being called discriminatory.
That complacency drew the sharpest rebuke from Erik Selle, a European advocate for women’s rights and child protection. “We cannot tolerate grooming gangs in Europe and threats to our women and children,” he declared. “We cannot any longer tolerate complacent European elites, police and media trading safety and security for multiculturalism. We cannot tolerate extremists in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan or any other country treat women worse than animals or the oppression of minorities.”
His words cut to the heart of the issue. Extremism thrives where elites hesitate, where institutions are weak, and where the suffering of women and children is treated as collateral damage.
The message from Geneva is that this is not a foreign policy problem alone. It is a moral one. If Europe wants to remain a continent of liberty, and if the international community is serious about human rights, then defending the weakest must be the starting point, not the afterthought. Every forced marriage, every silenced girl, every abused child is a test of our resolve.
To ignore that reality is to surrender to it.
Photo credit : https://www.hrphotographie.com/
