By Magda Honffy, AWC Antwerp
This was my first participation at a UN CSW. First I tried to assimilate myself with the history of CSW.
I looked up all of the past statements and achievements of the previous CSW sessions and read UN Women’s Strategic Plan. The Strategic Plan 2018–2021 outlines direction, objectives and approaches to support efforts to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. It supports the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and contributes to the gender-responsive implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
I regret that I didn’t take notes while listening to the different sessions. I was jumping from agenda to agenda listening to the international advocates or government or NGO officials or painful stories of the victims, mostly just for an hour at a time, so I was able to participate in 4-5 events a day. I was very interested in how different countries presented themselves and their achievements within the different fields related to women rights, gender equality,women in decision making, women in politics, women & safety etc.
The webinars and presentations at the different sessions which I have listened to daily during the past two weeks were overwhelming but inspiring and very interesting. An eye opener!!!
I learned for example that in Taiwan, homosexuality has never been a crime. Taiwan was the first county in Asia where homosexual marriage has been possible and accepted. I was flabbergasted at how political was the presentation of the Hong Kong delegation showing videos to prove that they are safeguarding women’s rights. I understand from friends in HKG that the existing framework is inadequate in critical respects and fails to achieve equal protection for women.
India is the biggest democracy in the world and women are protected by law, but in practice is not the case. Having lived 4.5 years in India, I was curious what is the situation there, at a number of sessions I listened to the mapping of women’s rights violations. The Indian panelists were very honest; they presented the real picture. Missing girls and women, dowry deaths, domestic violence, Sati, child marriage, education for girls very low, Indian women still facing these situations in the rural areas. It seems the gender parity in education is achieved at all levels, however empowering women remains a challenge. The share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector is still quite low.
Women in South Korea are guaranteed all the legal rights, however LGBT rights in South Korea still are facing legal challenges and discrimination. For example, legal partnership is not available to same-sex partners. Gay and lesbian Koreans still face difficulties at home and at work, however awareness of these issues is gradually rising. Transgender people are allowed to undergo sex reassignment surgery.
In many fragile and conflict-affected countries, not only are women grappling with the many challenges that conflict brings, but also the consequences of significantly asymmetrical gender relations. In many of these contexts, women face persistent barriers that reinforce discriminatory norms, practices and policies which continually prevent their empowerment and hinders their equal participation in all realms of life. As recognised in the Secretary General’s Report, women’s equal access to and full participation in decision-making and the elimination of violence are critical for achieving equality for women and girls. It is also essential to achieving universal human rights, and will play a central role in creating more peaceful and prosperous countries. This webinar explored what steps can be taken within fragile and conflict-affected countries to promote women’s full and effective participation and decision-making in public life, and to eliminate violence to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.
I was very pleased when listening to country's ambassadors state secretaries within the Ministerial Roundtables session to learn about good practices towards achieving women’s full and effective participation. Iceland, Norway, Finland and Sweden are the front runners, however in New Zealand the gap narrowed significantly in many areas. It will take approximately 90 years to achieve full parity between men and women at the current rate of change. the US is 53rd in the ranking. Western Europe made has made the most progress in closing the gender gap. Albania, Mexico and Spain impproved a lot.
Dr Prof Kristina Wolff's presentation at the parallel event on Femicidein Germany (co-sponsored by FAWCO) was a surprise to me. I was not aware that violence against women is deeply rooted in the society and in spite of protecting laws, sex-based hate crime is increasing. The analyses and cases she gave us were very concerning.
To me the highlight of CSW was the speech of Kamala Harris. It was welcoming that the US re-entered committees and treaties that it eliminated in the past four years.
It was interesting to listen to panel members from Taiwan, Japan, and Korea on empowering women in public affairs, politics and gender parity. It is a complicated issue in Asia as such positions are preferred to be practiced by men. Taiwan has the highest percentage of female lawmakers in Asia, but fewer female leaders at the local community level (14%).
It was shocking to me to listen to the session on Forced Marriage in the US and realize that it is legal in the US. I could not believe it. I was especially hit by the survival stories of Kate Ryan Brewer (in her documentary Knots: A Forced Marriage Story) and Fraidy Reiss' life story (now Director of Unchained at Last). Her young adult life was very similar to the story of the Netflix series Unorthodox.
I found very interesting the brainstorming/conversation circle of the faith-based organizations discussing women’s rights, empowerment, and violence against women.
A presenter from Mexico provided detailed information regarding the rising violence against women in spite of the fact politicians promised changes. In 2020, 7-10 women were murdered per day, a total of 376 women and 13 girls were murdered. A prIest who works with victims of the El Paso drug cartel stated that fear is a serious issue and it is very difficult to create situations where women can talk. It seems that the Cartel members send their children to Catholic schools and finance Catholic institutions. Another panel member talked about how the UN worked with sexual victims in Bosnia who were outcast. They introduced practices to help rebuild their lives and trust in communities. In conclusion, suggestions were that faith-based organizations need to listen to women, they need to be heard and greater commitments need to be introduced. The subject should be discussed in Parish Bulletins. Dialogue on the status of women is crucial regarding equal pay, participation in decision making etc.