CSW65 Reports
Commission on the Status of Women 65th Session
GWI Reports
Reporting is critical to the legacy of CSW65 and future advocacy work! All GWI representatives to CSW65 are encouraged to submit reports of sessions attended. A thematic summary of reports can be found HERE. This comprehensive summary is available worldwide with Calls to Action for governments, public and private sectors, educational institutions, and other NGOs stemming from CSW65.
Your reports are important! This year we will offer an easy-to-complete report template.
BasakOvacik
Dr.Ovacik Turkish Association of University Women 23 March 2021-Backlash Against the Istanbul Convention Red Pepper Association Human rights of women, Violence against women SDG5 – Gender Equality, SDG16 – Peace and Justice Strong Institutions Polygamy (2016), Harassment (2016), Tolerance of Minority Groups (2016), FGM (2016), Child Marriage (2016) It is very related as my country announced that it withdrew from the convention. The Istanbul Convention -The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence is an important legal document protecting women. Some countries want to withdraw from the convention as it is against the patriarchal system. The speakers talked about its importance and gave some country examples from Turkey and Poland. They all get informed about the regional(Europe) convention protecting women's rights against violence. They can adopt the same law to their national law codes. Or they can call their own governments to sign. Violence against women should be the red line of all women’s rights organization. It is the biggest priority now as they are more affected during...
read moreBasak Ovacik
Dr.Ovacik Turkish Association of University Women Women and Girls' Human Rights United Nations Language and Terminology-24 March 2021 NGO CSW Genava Institutional mechanisms SDG5 – Gender Equality Building Peace through Women’s Education (2019) non The speakers introduced the purpose of the task force created for gender terminology. A clear definition is needed internationally especially in law. Some terminology is not translatable to other languages. They described the concept of gender. They try to replace "sex" with "gender" identity. Very useful in leading to find the exact terms in our own language. We need to search for the exact term in our bulletins, web site, resolutions...
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Dr.Ovacik Turkish Association of University Women Women on Boards-Impactful Leadership for Systemic Change and Inclusive Entities STEM Institute Women in power and decision-making, Education and training of women SDG4 – Quality Education, SDG5 – Gender Equality Women and STEM (2019) My NFA supports STEM education and encourage girls to prefer STEM fields at their education. Jackie K. Weatherspoon was the keynote speaker. UWE President Anne Negre and GWI member Shailo Mistry made excellent presentations. Alex Blakemore from Britain presented the academic side of STEM and gave statistics. It was an informative session with highlights from the world. We can write a statement on STEM education.Rate of progress varies in different parts of the world. But we need to take a collaborative action. The underlying low number in girls’ choice of STEM is gender inequalities they face. We need to provide gender equality...
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Ms.Gamal Independent Member, Egypt. CSW65 Side Event: Connect2Include.Include2Connect, Thursday, 18 March 2021. International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Women in power and decision-making, The girl child, Women and the economy, Human rights of women, Education and training of women, Violence against women, Women and poverty, Women and health SDG3 – Good Health and Well-Being, SDG4 – Quality Education, SDG5 – Gender Equality, SDG8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, SDG 10 – Reduced Inequality, SDG11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG17 – Partnerships to achieve the Goal Bullying (2016), Disability (2016), Harassment (2016), Tolerance of Minority Groups (2016), Young Members (2016) The session focused on the importance of connectivity and digital inclusion of women and girls as a powerful enabler and empowering tool . This coincides with GWI's Marketplace Initiative and, in turn, with FUWA's ICT Literacy Course targeting 100% literacy of FUWA members. This session was the second stop in ITU's "Road to Addis" for their "World Telecommunication Development Conference" (WTDC-2021) that will be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 8-19 November 2021 preceded by a Youth Summit. ITU aims at achieving digital inclusion of women and girls, children,youth, persons with disabilities, older persons, indigenous peoples, and people living in remote areas. They aim to do so by ensuring that technology is people centered and that no one is left behind due to lack of connectivity or due to lack of accessibility of digital information, products and services. To achieve that, there is a need to develop appropriate policies, strategies and actions that address the specific needs for this digital inclusion. ITU promotes the building of inclusive digital societies because connectivity will help accelerate the global socio-economic recovery after the current pandemic. To accelerate connectivity for sustainable development, ITU identified "6 enablers" which are "Partnerships, Inclusion, Financing, Leadership, Innovation and Youth". Participants of this session concluded that "Connectivity and Inclusion" should be regarded as the 18th SDG and digitalization is the only means to do so. Because of the current pandemic situation, all GWI members have realized the importance of ICT literacy and accessibility. Women and girls' education has been negatively affected in areas where there is no appropriate digital infrastructure. Girls' school drop-outs and child marriage have increased. Women's economic independence has suffered because of lockdown and downsizing. VAW has increased, unreported and unnoticed, because of social distancing. ICT tools have been the main source for pandemic-related information and health-related advice. Digital platforms were the only available educational resources. Online small businesses have been the main source of women's economic independence. This session, in turn, provides GWI members with information related to digital accessibility and affordability giving them a chance to study the causes delaying their 100% inclusion in the digital world of tomorrow. CSW67 (2023) priority theme is “innovation and technological change and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls”. This is a perfect opportunity for collaboration between GWI and ITU to ensure 100% inclusion of GWI members. NFAs could also participate by providing case studies of factors affecting this process of inclusion in the different fields of education, economic empowerment, decreasing GBV, aiding disabilities and empowering...
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Ms.Gamal Independent Member, Egypt. CSW65 Parallel Event: Mock Trial: Women and Girls' Empowerment through Responsive Quality Education, Tuesday, 16 March 2021. Graduate Women International (GWI). The girl child, Women and the economy, Human rights of women, Education and training of women, Violence against women, Women and poverty SDG4 – Quality Education, SDG5 – Gender Equality, SDG8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 10 – Reduced Inequality, SDG17 – Partnerships to achieve the Goal Bullying (2016), Child Marriage (2016), Diversity in Teacher Education (2019), Women and STEM (2019) GWI's NFAs, in general, followed their national restriction rules and were obliged to resort to digital educational platforms to cope with the current pandemic situation and the lockdown of all educational institutions. This necessitated that all teachers, as well as students, needed to be ICT literate. Realizing this fact, as a GWI independent member, and benefiting from my own personal experience, I have volunteered to give courses on Basic ICT Literacy Skills. As an educator of university level female students, I have been training my students on how to maximize their benefit from our online classes. I have also facilitated their communication with the IT technical support personnel to solve the problems they encounter. The session was another one of GWI's very successful Mock Trials. Participants debated two statements. The first one was about E-learning and digitalization being the one and only solution to decrease inequalities and ensure inclusion. The second was about schools providing IT home based education by trained teachers, while redirecting their functions to be places for practical subjects, social interaction and extra-curricular activities. Participants agreed on the inevitability of e-learning during crisis situations such pandemics and conflicts areas. They also agreed on its benefit in areas that lack schools. Yet, they disagreed that either one of the statements could be the one and only solution. The first statement raised concerns about mothers having to leave their jobs, and thus their financial independence, to monitor their younger children while being home schooled. Another concern was the deprivation of less advantaged students from the in-person services provided by schools such as medical attention, meals and physical exercises. Yet, the most pressing concern was that abuse and domestic violence might prevail unnoticed by the different authorities. The second statement raised a concern about digitalization of education that might lead to teachers losing their jobs as fewer ones will be needed to address many more students through the digital platforms. Another concern was that students, especially younger ones, might be negatively affected as far as socialization and human interacting are concerned. Participants weighed advantages and disadvantages of both statements and reached out a conclusion that generalization is not appropriate and that each situation should be studied within its context. What might be the solution to one problem might be the cause of another. The lively interaction forced each party to consider the limitations of their choice and the possibilities presented by the other party. They shared personal and national experiences that might be modified and used by each others depending on the context. GWI, through its NFAs, can further investigate the impact of e-learning on the different educational stages, including informal education, and share the findings with UN Women. This could take the form of a case study and requires collaboration...
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Ms.Hannum WG-USA Virtual Downhill Meeting of Civil Society and UN SG, 16 March 2021 UN Women Women and the environment, Women in power and decision-making, The girl child, Women and the economy, Human rights of women, Education and training of women, Violence against women, Women and poverty, Institutional mechanisms, Women and health, Women and armed conflict, Women and the media SDG5 – Gender Equality Child Marriage (2016) The meeting provided an opportunity for women and youth civil society organizations to engage with the UN Secretary-General (SG) on the CSW65 Priority Theme: 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. The townhall also built upon discussions from the SG virtual meeting with women’s civil society in light of the COVID-19 crisis, addressing ways to build back better and continue protecting and promoting women’s rights and agency within this new context. The SG began the session by proclaiming that his priority for the session was not to answer questions but to listen. He wanted to hear the opinions and suggestions of civil society representatives, and to then be able to incorporate them into “our” thinking and forthcoming policies. The SG went on to present some alarming information as a result of the pandemic and what it has meant in terms of progress for women’s rights and gender equality. He emphasized that the social and economic impact of COVID-19 has been devastating for women’s rights. He particularly focused his comments on the rights of the most vulnerable and marginalized poor women and particularly on women working in the “informal” economy. The SG stressed that, according to the World Bank, women in Latin America and the Caribbean were 44 percent more likely than men to lose their jobs at the onset of the crisis. And, he noted that UNICEF reported in the prior week that up to ten million more girls were at risk of becoming child brides as a result of the pandemic. The SG reviewed and acknowledged the severe impact of COVID-19 on many fronts; i.e. on domestic violence as many women are trapped at home with their abusers, on education with school closures, overburdened elder and healthcare services with women bearing the brunt of the care economy, and the inequalities that all of these dilemmas perpetuate. Many of these issues were considered emergencies even before COVID-19. Furthering the crises is a lack of access for women to sexual and reproductive health services and an extended disruption of supplies and services. The SG stressed the importance of women in equal roles in building the recovery from COVID-19 and to address the serious setbacks to gender equality and women’s rights. A quote from the SG’s remarks, “ Male-dominated teams will come up with male-dominated solutions.” The SG said that we need to see the severe impact of COVID-19 as an opportunity for a reset to address the fragility in healthcare systems, social protections, access to justice, the wellbeing of our planet, and in localizing progress in sustainable development. The SG especially emphasized that “women need to be front and center of the recovery from the pandemic, not as a matter of charity, not even as a matter of justice and basic...
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Ms.Gamal Independent Member, Egypt. CSW65 Side Event: The Rapid Response to Women and Girls needs during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Tuesday 16 March 2021. Egyptian National Council for Women, UN Women Egypt and UNFPA Egypt. Women in power and decision-making, The girl child, Women and the economy, Human rights of women, Education and training of women, Violence against women, Women and poverty, Women and health, Women and the media SDG3 – Good Health and Well-Being, SDG4 – Quality Education, SDG5 – Gender Equality, SDG8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, SDG 10 – Reduced Inequality, SDG11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG17 – Partnerships to achieve the Goal Bullying (2016), Disability (2016), Harassment (2016), FGM (2016), Child Marriage (2016), Sexual Health and Reproduction Education (2019) The session covered the majority of issues related to women facing the COVID-19 Pandemic, providing suggestions on how to minimize the negative impact of this pandemic and sharing successful measures that were already implemented. The Egyptian National Council for Women (NCW); in collaboration with China, Algeria, Saudi Arabia and Zambia; presented a "Ministerial Interactive Dialogue" demonstrating national and regional efforts to respond to women and girls needs during the COVID-19 pandemic situation. They shared Egypt's Policy Paper titled " Strengthening national and international rapid response to the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on women and girls". This policy was adopted unanimously as a resolution by the UN General Assembly (https://undocs.org/en/A/RES/75/156). The aim of the policy is to provide a gender- sensitive approach to women and girls during the time of the pandemic. The session started by analyzing the situation,identifying the most vulnerable segments of women and the response measures suggested for them. These response measures targeted women and girls' physical and mental health, their social and economic protection, the needed intervention measures for elderly and disabled women, the necessity of digitalizing education and providing the needed infrastructure, protecting the girl child and preventing all forms of VAW, and ensuring women's equal chances in leadership and decision making. NCW Egypt also launched the "Women Policy Tracker" which included indicators and techniques to monitor the rapid and gender-sensitive responses to women and girls' needs. The session was a follow up on the implementation of the related policies and programs dividing responses into immediate recovery, short term and long term interventions that rely on already existing mechanisms as well as initiating new ones. The end result is to have an inclusive healthy society for women and girls. The session provided the first policy ever to address women and girls needs in the time of the pandemic and the necessity of a rapid response. The response measures are comprehensive and can be adopted and modified to fit different local communities. These measures are peaceful, practical and doable. GWI can partner with NCW Egypt to exchange successful experiences in empowering women and girls. NFAs can benefit from NCW by outsourcing training for their members in topics such as preventing VAW, ending FGM, promoting women’s political participation and entrepreneurship. Members can adopt NCW’s successful campaigns in a variety of gender related issues and modify them to fit their local and national...
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Ms.Gamal Independent Member, Egypt. CSW65 Side Event: Virtual Townhall Meeting of Civil Society and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Tuesday 16 March 2021. Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary-General and UN Women. Women and the environment, Women in power and decision-making, The girl child, Women and the economy, Human rights of women, Violence against women, Women and poverty, Women and health, Women and armed conflict SDG3 – Good Health and Well-Being, SDG5 – Gender Equality, SDG8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 10 – Reduced Inequality, SDG11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities Bullying (2016), Harassment (2016), Tolerance of Minority Groups (2016), Child Marriage (2016), Young Members (2016) Egypt has successfully implemented the UN resolution of " Strengthening National and International Rapid Response to the Impact of COVID-19 on Women and Girls". This resolution was presented by Egypt in collaboration with Algeria, China, Saudi Arabia and Zambia. It was adopted by the UN General assembly unanimously. Egypt shared this successful experience in one of CSW65's side events. UN SG invited civil society to localize SDGs and provide doable suggestions that can be incorporated in UN's thinking and policies; provided UN's initiative to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls as a model for partnerships with national governments and civil society; informed civil society of the UN reform to achieve parity at all levels by placing women and girls central to all future planning; stressed the necessity of including women to achieve a more inclusive and networked multilateralism; reported the meeting with eminent women economists to brainstorm new approaches and solutions to address the impact of the pandemic on trade, financial flows and the jobs needed for a sustainable recovery; called for the reignition of the Decade of Action for SDGs and for charting a path to more equal, just, inclusive and sustainable economies and societies; asked for 5 transformative actions to build women's representation, participation and leadership that include realizing women's equal rights, taking concrete steps to ensure equal representation for women, supporting women's economic inclusion, addressing GBV through emergency plans and making space for intergenerational transition by supporting young women leaders ; and finally explained how UN has put women at the center of Covid-19 response and recovery through COVID response fund designating resources for gender-sensitive programming. If GWI members accept UN SG's invitation to localize SDGs, they can certainly make real change on the ground and be able to provide him with doable proposals that can be incorporated in UN policies. Utilizing the rich diversity of its membership, GWI can partner with UN and UN Women to implement UN’s recommendations to achieve more inclusive, networked and multilateral communities. By implementing one and the same project by the different NFAs, GWI will present a valuable case study that will provide UN with practical recommendations to be incorporated in its future...
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Ms.MacLellan Canada Women, Gender Equality and Climate Change, March 17, 2021 Sponsors: Dining for Women (now Together Women Rise) and UNICEF. Women and the environment, Women in power and decision-making, Women and the economy, Education and training of women, Women and health SDG3 – Good Health and Well-Being, SDG4 – Quality Education, SDG7- Affordable and Clean Energy, SDG8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG13 – Climate Action Child Marriage (2016) The session covered the importance of girls and women's education as well as their leadership in making environmental projects successful. The education of women and girls is central to the work of CFUW. The way climate change and environmental degradation affects women and children is also of considerable concern. Three organizations described their projects followed by the representative from UNICEF describing UNICEF's COVID response and the way they work generally in the countries that invite them to get involved. The projects were in African countries and showed how women's leadership, gender justice and education are essential to successful implementation of environmental projects. Health and education of women and girls were also linked – especially education which was described as transformative. Community engagement is key and this point was reinforced by UNICEF in their approach to working with countries and communities. In some countries the youth population is very large and so education is crucial. The effects of the pandemic illustrate how complex providing effective aid and support can be. The key points of working with communities, building partnerships, respecting and encouraging female leadership and education are ones GWI members can use in all settings. Partnerships and alliances with these organizations are certainly possible. For North Americans the Women’s Earth Alliance might provide avenues to collaborate on specific...
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Ms.MacLellan CFUW Women's Empowerment/ El Empoderamiento de la mujer, March 16, 2021, Parallel Event Sponsored by BPW (Spain) – Business and Professional Women's Association Women and the environment, Women in power and decision-making, Women and the economy, Education and training of women SDG3 – Good Health and Well-Being, SDG5 – Gender Equality, SDG8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, SDG 10 – Reduced Inequality, SDG11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG13 – Climate Action, SDG17 – Partnerships to achieve the Goal Young Members (2016), Women and STEM (2019) As part of CFUW our club works to help young women attain the post secondary education they need to take leadership roles in whatever careers they choose. We also continue to press for women's equality and equal rights and encourage women to take leadership roles in social benefit organizations, government and business. This session focussed on women in leadership roles in business and particularly in Spain but dealt with a wide variety of situations such as women in agriculture, hospitality industry, astrophysics, social work, the film industry and so on. The speakers shared a lot of information about the levels of participation of women in various industries and in leadership roles. Several pointed out that education is the key both in the formal sense and in the sense of the attitudes of girls and boys, women and men towards certain areas of study and certain careers as well as towards the idea of women as leaders. Collaboration and mutual support among women was also stressed. This session demonstrated how women can break barriers that often keep them from realizing there full potential. Education is key as are role models and partnerships. Speakers in this session try to encourage and foster leadership in younger women in their areas and this is a strategy that GWI members can practice and encourage in others. This group of business and professional women is working to mentor and encourage younger women both by example and through specific programs. Others can learn from what BPA does and joint projects with other women’s organizations especially to raise awareness, provide positive role models, provide training and encouragement are areas of possible...
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