Consultation Day is sponsored by NGO CSW (civil society’s Committee of the Status of Women) and traditionally takes place on the Sunday before the Commission on the Status of Women.
This year’s NGO CSW Women of Distinction Award winner was Sharon Bhagwan Rolls for her empowerment of women through radio in Fiji, where women have little representation in the political process and rural women have almost no public voice. Five Pacific Island countries do not have a woman in their governments.
For more on Sharon’s achievements www.ngocsw.org/woman-of-distinction
Cities for CEDAW took center stage, advocating for the San Francisco model of implementation for the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) as a way of overcoming the United States’ lack of support for this important women’s rights agreement. 187 countries have ratified CEDAW; the United States, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Palau and Tonga have not. Cities are seen as a powerful opportunity for change and advocates were encouraged to take this local approach to empower women and implementing women’s rights.
NGO CSW will also be putting its full support behind the Beijing +20 Global Campaign to “scale up and speed up” the Beijing Platform for Action and the implementation of CEDAW.
For more on Cities for CEDAW go to www.una-sf.org/cities-for-cedaw-posted-by-una-sf-womens-committee/
It Begins March 10th
On Monday March 10th, the Commission on the Status of Women officially began its two-week review of the progress of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as they pertain to women’s rights.
6,000 civil society advocates, representing 860 organizations from around the world, arrived in New York City to discuss and debate progress on gender equality with member states, and to begin campaigning for a new set of targets to be implemented after 2015.
And standalone goals on gender equality, supported by ministers from Africa, the Americas, the Caribbean and Europe, including the UK, is a focus area for the United Nations Open Working Group on Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals. Gender equality is generally considered to have been an underserved by the MDGs.
For UN Women’s position on a standalone goal on gender equality go to www.ngocsw.org/woman-of-distinction
Tuesday March 11th
Of the 865 million women in the world, 812 million of them live in developing countries. Education is critical for women, particularly in developing countries, countries affected by war and post-conflict zones. There are numerous programs in the United States and around the world dedicated to assisting young women from these regions in accessing university degrees. Open A Door is one such organization, currently working with girls from Rwanda and Iraq.
The Open a Door Foundation website is http://openadoorfoundation.org/
The Working Group on Girls (WGG - a coalition of NGOs working with and for girls on issues that concern them) convened a session that brought together youth delegates and girls concerned with gender equality and the gaps in achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The girls outlined their experiences and recommendations, which will be posted on the WGG website and used in future discussions with Permanent Missions to the United Nations. These young women and girls hope to influence the Post 2015 Sustainable Development Goals with their input.
The Working Group on Girls website is http://girlsrights.org/
Wednesday March 12th
“Men Caring for Gender” was a CSW session convened by leaders from Brazil, Indonesia, the Netherlands, South Africa and Rwanda to discuss approaches for engaging men in gender equality. Many important best practices were shared and research findings discussed:
- When men participate as partners in parenting they are healthier and happier, and so are their children and their partners
- Breaking the cycle of abuse, which passes from generation to generation, is an important part of changing male attitudes toward gender equality.
- Significant male role models (actors or athletes) can have a big impact on attitudes.
- In South Africa, 2 out of 3 children grow up without a father figure. Being a good provider is not the same thing as being a good father.
- The “Unpaid Care Divide” is driving gender inequality. In the Global South, women do up to 10 times the amount of domestic work as men.
- Programs to engage men must be culturally specific. In many countries, involving religious and community leaders would be essential.
The Canadian Mission and the Working Group on Girls sponsored an event that matched government delegates, attending the CSW, with groups of girls, also attending the CSW from around the world, to discuss girls’ issues in their countries. The topics included trafficking, sexual exploitation, education, early forced marriage, and the media’s role in gender stereotyping. One of the government ministers declared that it was the most important session he would attend at the CSW.