Letter to Women

A short letter addressed to the women of the whole world, dated 29 June 1995, the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, and written 'as a sign of solidarity and gratitude' on the eve of the United Nations' Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing that September. Speaking 'directly to the heart and mind of every woman', it opens with a series of thanksgivings: to women as mothers, wives, daughters and sisters, women who work, consecrated women, and every woman for 'the simple fact of being a woman'. It acknowledges that women have often been denied their dignity, and expresses regret if members of the Church have shared in that. It calls for real equality in pay, in the workplace and in public life, alongside the recognition of motherhood, and condemns sexual violence. It goes on to speak of the 'genius of women', the complementarity of men and women, and women's contribution to a culture of life, and recalls his earlier apostolic letter Mulieris Dignitatem. It closes with Mary as the highest expression of the feminine genius.