CSW69 Reflection: Lorraine Cuffie
CSW69 was an experience laden with bitter-sweet emotions, notably, satisfaction, discouragement, pride and hope. I was immensely satisfied with the progressive strides made by some countries like Tunisia, which elected its first female president; Iceland, which elected a woman as its second President, in an environment where women in leadership positions are the norm, rather than the exception; South Africa, with its female representative chairing the G20, Argentina with its first woman president of ECOSOC; Namibia which elected a young woman as its second President; Rwanda with the distinction of having an equal number of women and men in its Cabinet and a parliament comprising 65% of women, the highest number of woman leaders in the world.
I felt somewhat discouraged by the fact that in 2025 women’s hard-fought rights are still being challenged, and patriarchal actors are pushing back against gains that have been mutually agreed upon, to the extent that this trend is steadily gaining traction.
The prognosis that it will take 300 years to achieve gender parity and 137 years to end extreme poverty is somewhat disheartening What more will it take for the empowerment of women, and girls, to be finally mainstreamed in the policies of countries that have made previous commitments in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, but now, 30 years later, are perfectly content to renege on their obligations, disregard treaties, refuse funding for the implementation of necessary programs, and return to the past where women were not in public spaces and therefore posed no threat to the egos of their male counterparts? When will the United Nations elect a female Secretary-General? That will indeed be gender parity at the highest level.
As revealed in several side and parallel events, women are still being denied basic human rights, sexual and reproductive rights, health rights, rights to education, and other critical areas mentioned in the Beijing document. In fact, gender-based violence is now increasingly on the rise. Case in point, the issue of child marriage is a powerful example of the violation of the rights of women and girls. In the event entitled “No Child Left a Bride”: Successes and Setbacks in the Global Effort to End Child Marriage”, Fraidy Reiss, Founder/Executive Director of “Unchained at Last”, the only organization in the world working to end child marriage, recounted the ongoing struggle to get states to ban child marriage. While Ms. Reiss was successful in getting 13 states to pass laws banning child marriage, the remaining states are in no way amenable to that course of action. However, this attitude has strengthened the resolve of Ms. Reiss, who has pledged to continue the fight against gender-based violence.
In the event titled “Women Rise for All: Turning Hope into Action”, it was eye-opening to see a 13-year-old girl give the opening remarks, including the challenging words, “If you can’t participate, then you can’t anticipate”. It was also thrilling to observe women with high-profile visibility, e.g., Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General, Sima Sami Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women, Maria Fernanda Espinosa, President of the 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly, Charitie Ropati, Indigenous Scientist, Water Engineer and Activist, and Annemarie Hou, Executive Director of UN Office for Partnerships, all of whom offered stirring words of wisdom and advice as women leaders of a network that highlighted the power of women to change global systems.
It was inspiring to see women in leadership positions already effecting change in their respective spheres of influence, e.g., Halla Tomasdottir, President of Iceland, who shared best practices – affordable childcare, paternity leave, and political participation. Amina Mohammed acknowledged the atrocities of war in Gaza, Sudan, and Ukraine, but reminded us of our power as women to shift the prevailing culture. As we rise, we should take people with us, especially boys and men. We must fight collectively for the world we want. Above all, hope turned into action meant pushing back against the pushback and using our brains for transformative action. It is all about power, power-sharing (partnerships) and having a strong, vibrant collective network.
However, as Sima Bahous said, “Progress is crawling, when it should be soaring” Furthermore, while women have made some progress, it is still not enough. A lot remains to be done. Take, for instance, the event “Beijing+30: Women Unseen:2 Steps Forward, 3 Steps Backward”. For the women of Sudan, no effort has been made to achieve the goals of the Beijing Declaration. Atrocities (rape, abduction, child marriage) are still being leveled against women and girls, and the international community remains “scandalously silent” in the face of such rampant gender-based violence. In Palestine, women continue to be targets of reproductive genocide. Argentina is faced with its regressive government indiscriminately cutting budgets in health care and education and dismantling all policies related to the prevention of violence. What stands out is that prior agreements are non-binding, and unless there are accountability mechanisms in place, documents like the Beijing Declaration of Action and the recent Political Declaration will not achieve the desired results.
I remain hopeful because the fight for gender parity and justice is ongoing. I am heartened that the Secretary-General remains a staunch advocate for the rights of women and girls in all aspects of life; that civil society, in all its diversity, is leading the way and inspiring others; that young women are increasingly stepping into the roles of gender champions and grappling with such issues as technology-facilitated gender-based violence, peace and security. Nonetheless, it is becoming unquestionably clear that the only effective solution to these problems that plague our world is the intergenerational/collaborative approach which mandates everyone to have a seat at the table. This principle is echoed in the words sung by Ecumenical Women, “For everyone born, a place at the table, to live without fear, and simply to be, to work, to speak out, to witness and worship, for everyone born, the right to be free”. Ultimately, freedom must be protected.
