* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
On the 9th of March, at the opening of the 59th Commission on the Status of Women in New York, U.S.A, I carried messages from hundreds of feminists, activists, and members of civil society to the halls of the United Nations. In the presence of United Nations leaders and governments around the world, I spoke about the weakness of the Political Declaration adopted that very day by the UN member states. Feminist and women’s rights organisations were largely excluded from the two-week closed door negotiations that led to this document. The result is a declaration that does not go far enough towards the transformative change needed for women’s rights, gender equality and social justice.
Progress towards the full recognition of the rights of all women has been patchy and limited even though we are now at the 20-year anniversary of the Fourth World Women’s Conference held in Beijing, China. The fulfillment of key commitments made by governments at Beijing has been stalled by a complex myriad of issues, including rising religious fundamentalisms across regions and religions, a lack of political will, and a lack of resources for women’s rights organizing.
In 2015, women’s rights activists are fighting to maintain hard won gains such as our rights to bodily integrity and the recognition of our sexual and reproductive rights as stated in the Programme of Action that came out of the International Conference of Population and Development held in Cairo in 1994. We are also confronted by new issues, including the increased criminalization of dissent and protest in places such as Egypt and Russia. In today’s world we see women human rights defenders who protect indigenous lands under attack by powerful corporates and governments in countries such as Guatemala, Mexico, and the Philippines. In 2015 we have trans* women being killed in the United States, indigenous women missing in Canada, and women and girls being abducted in Northern Nigeria, Iraq and Syria. The world has never seemed like a more dangerous place for women and other marginalized groups.
These are the reasons why the women of the world deserve more than we are currently being offered. The current challenges to gender justice and women’s human rights around the world demand urgent and bold actions by governments, the UN, the private sector and civil society. This requires an allocation of financial resources needed to implement all agreements on gender equality, gender justice and women’s human rights. We know that the resources for women’s rights exist. What is needed is reallocation of resources and prioritization of the full realization of gender equality and women’s rights. In recognizing the centrality of women’s rights as human rights, no country should be allowed to cherry pick. Women’s rights are indivisible and non-negotiable. It is especially important that sexual rights, reproductive rights and health are not used as a trade-off amongst governments in negotiations. Women and girls die as a result of this, and it needs to stop.
As the world negotiates the Sustainable Development Goals, financing for development, and the post-2015 processes, it is time for states and agencies to make gender equality and women’s human rights central to all agreements. At this crucial juncture for women’s rights, it is also time for the world to recognize and celebrate the tireless work of feminists and women’s rights activists all over the world: lesbians, black, indigenous, urban and rural women living in conditions of poverty, workers, disabled women, young and elders, trans* and intersex people – thank you for leading the way towards the full realization of women’s human rights and gender justice for all.
