This March, youth advocates from around the world sent a message to their governmental leaders: we will hold you accountable on gender equality. They came to New York for the 59th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), a yearly conference that draws government leaders and delegates as well as advocates from local organizations to evaluate progress on and set standards for women’s empowerment. IWHC held a two-day “Advocacy in Practice” workshop before the conference to help prepare the young leaders and to facilitate their discussions with high-level policymakers and decision-makers. More than 20 youth from countries as diverse as Guatemala and Kenya participated in the IWHC workshop and in CSW. Several spoke on panels as part of CSW main or side events,
Tag: united nations
The S Word: What’s So Scary About Women’s Sexuality?
This blog was originally published on Trust.org on March 5, 2015. Twenty years ago, 189 governments made history in Beijing by committing to a bold, progressive platform for women’s human rights and equality. It seemed like the beginning of a new era. When First Lady Hillary Clinton stood before 17,000 government delegates and activists and fiercely proclaimed, “Let it be that human rights are women’s rights, and women’s rights are human rights, once and for all,” women around the world felt energized. While we have cause to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Beijing, we still have a long way to go to fully realize its promise. Inequality persists at many levels around the world and the idea that women and girls should be able to
Scaling Up the “Whole Girl” Approach to End Child Marriage
A panel of experts gathered at the UN Tuesday afternoon to discuss the most effective programs to end child marriage and the work ahead for advocates and governments committed to ending the practice, which affects an estimated 15 million girls under the age of 18 worldwide every year. Panelists noted that minimum age of marriage laws and cash payments to parents to keep their daughters in school can help prevent child marriage, but will not work as stand alone interventions. Moreover, measures must address the root cause of the problem: gender inequality. “The devaluation of girls by families, by schools, and by societies is the fundamental root cause of [child marriage],” said IWHC President Françoise Girard, who noted that a “whole girl” approach must be taken to end