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Shadow Report North Macedonia
In the last decade, North Macedonia has made progresses regarding gender equality and women's rights. The country ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Optional Protocol in 1994. In 2018, the Council of Europe’s (CoE) Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combating violence against Women was ratified. Besides this, several laws and mechanisms to advance gender equality have been adopted. As part of the Women2030 program, which aims to engage women’s rights and gender equality organizations in the process of achieving the SDGs of Agenda 2030, Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) held policy consultations between December 2017 and October 2019. The consultations were held with policy makers, women organizations and CSOs, as well as strategic partners to present how to improve national policies, plans and budgets for SDGs from a gender perspective. This Shadow Report has been prepared by our partner organisation Journalists for [...]
HerstoryGrows – The seeds we plant grow roots
“For me, the change begins when we begin to love ourselves, to be strong, to be independent", the words of Liliana resonate all the way from Colombia to the rest of the world. Awareness is like a pair of new glasses you cannot take off, once we see new possibilities, there is no turning back, we will never choose oppression once we have known liberation. The story of Liliana, a farmer in Colombia, shows exactly this. By being exposed to ideas that challenged gender norms and society that her land and her rights could be used in different, more just ways, Liliana’s vision changed. They say if you want to hear the stories of the world, ask a woman. From the Philippines to Nigeria, Nepal to Togo, Uganda to Colombia, the women and men of Women2030 program came together to give us a glimpse into their world and how they are challenging [...]
CSW65: Challenging and exciting global women’s rights negotiations at UN
by Rose Heffernan This year’s Commission on the Status of Women (CSW65) had the priority theme of ‘women’s full and effective participation and decision-making in public life, as well as the elimination of violence, for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.’ As we have engaged in the CSW in previous years, we were pleased to be part of the official delegation of the German government alongside other civil society representatives and to host two parallel events on this year’s virtual NGOCSW65 platform. Additionally, we gave input to the Agreed Conclusions and collectively organised alongside other CSOs to promote our ecofeminist agenda. Our events were well attended, our first being ‘Why we need a feminist vision for Agenda 2030’ a culmination of the efforts of the Women2030 partners in promoting gender equality within the sustainable development goals, as well as the publication of the Global Shadow Report. Our other event: ‘Global feminist movement [...]
Our Women2030 Programme – A Celebration Of Impact
On the 4th and 5th of March 2021, Women2030 coalition and country partners gathered virtually to celebrate the end of the Women2030 programme which was funded in the last 5 years by the European Commission via the International Partnerships for the EU (INTPA). The women2030 program was part of efforts in the drive towards adopting a gender transformative Agenda2030 and climate policies. The meeting was a learning webinar organized for the purpose of sharing the lived experiences of the project implementers and beneficiaries. On the first day, the programme implementing partners from local and regional organisations shared outstanding stories of change from their local communities. Many stories touched on different areas of impact namely: capacities built, policies improved, and mindsets changed. Some of the emerging themes include: Women rising as advocates and defenders for environmental stability, the recognition of women as actors in decision-making with local and national governments, and women solidarity [...]
Virtually in New York at the UN: WECF events during the Commission on the Status of Women
A year ago, just before the CSW, the corona pandemic changed everything. But now we have found new ways of movement building. So, we can connect virtually from all over the world to CSW65. In addition to the negotiations, in which government delegations have discussions on what it takes to improve gender equality, a lot more is happening! Through the virtual platform of NGO CSW, we let our feminist voices be heard. In addition to the negotiations, in which government delegations and women’s organisations tried to advance progress on women’s rights in the economy and in policy making (see our article on the negotiations) we let our feminist voices be heard through two events that we co-organised as the Women2030 and WECF partners. Why we need a feminist vision During the Parallel Event “Why we need a feminist vision for Agenda 2030, feminist voices at the policy table sharing lessons” on Monday 22 March, we [...]
Ending Violence Against Women Requires Systemic Change
by Jeanette Sequeira (Global Forest Coalition) and Audrey Ledanois (Women Engage for a Common Future) This year, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on November 25th comes toward the end of a particularly difficult one for women across the world, who with COVID-19 have faced domestic violence during lockdowns and financial struggles due to job losses and increased unpaid care work. UNWomen has found that 35% of women globally have suffered physical or sexual violence. This statistic—already a few years old—is complemented by a new report by feminist organisations with bottom-up, evidence-based perspectives from communities around the world provides an informative picture of violence against women and the status of women’s rights. Crucially, the report also provides feminist priorities and solutions to combat systemic gender inequality and patriarchal norms, which drive sexual, physical, and psychological violence. Most often, violence against women is gender based; it is because they [...]