Wrapping up UN CSW59 from NYC March, 2015.

Finishing up notes from the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in NYC.  March, 2015:

Issues that came up in the workshops (parallel events) that I attended during the course of the week I was there:

*Economic disasters such as crop failures and climate change are eradicating some of the industries in which women have traditionally participated in order to earn a living.  Climate changing is having a devastating impact on industries such as fishing.  In some places there are no longer enough fish to sustain communities, many people are having to migrate to new communities, which in turn has impacts on the host communities. 

These economic realities have a negative impact on women’s abilities to support themselves and their families.  Yet in disaster planning women’s voices are not sought out and included in this very thing that will have long term consequences in their lives.  Often the priority for resources after disasters is given to boys.

*Lack of access to reproductive health services.  There is an enormous need for comprehensive sex education. 

*There is a need for more women to be active in politics in order to advocate for women and women’s involvement in the world processes that impact women.

*Women 20-30 do not know their rights, including their reproductive rights.  There is a need to improve the lives of women living with HIV/AIDS.

*Wives of migrants, prisoners, etc., have HIV/AIDS.  There is stigma and yet educated religious leadership can become a part of the solution by educating the public.

*In Pakistan with religious fundamentalism, because of early marriage young girls are more unprotected (and having sex with much older, experienced husbands), have less economic ability and less rights of land inheritance.  The younger a girl is the less likely to know her sexual and reproductive rights, she is easier to control.

*The United Nations in now calling women’s rights “human rights.”  Everyone benefits when human beings are treated equally and have equal access to education and the decision making levels of government.  This brings us again to the addressing of the issue of having women in politics, especially women who desire to change the lives of other women.  This includes addressing the vital issue of how to prevent violence against women.

*I personally reflected on the mechanisms of power in the United States.  I used to naively believe that anyone born on United States soil could become President.  As I am increasingly exposed to new perspectives on power and life I realize that there are mechanisms in place for creating leaders in the United States and presumably all countries, all systems.

There are, for instance, Ivy League Universities where people are shaped and mentored and learn about power, developing important relationships.  I personally believe that this may be the (or at least a) level where a great deal of decision making and foreign and domestic policy takes place.

*Corruption is a huge factor worldwide.  Where does the money go that is meant to empower and enable women and bring change to the lives of millions, village by village?

*Issues that need to be/and continue to be addressed include:

early marriage

unregistered customary marriages that give no rights to the wife

economic justice structure

reproductive rights of women

breast cancer

violence against women – particularly in rural areas

the stigma of HIV/AIDS, the stigma faced by grandmothers raising the   children of their daughters who have died of HIV/AIDS, the       financial issues faced by these grandmothers

These things (listed above) are hidden and are not publicly discussed. 

*Men find ways to hold onto power – violence can take the form of the militarization of society.  When war ends there is trauma and HIV in women.

Results:

Challenging the status quo

Meeting as women to convene power

Building leadership around peace and security

Trying to rebuild women’s bodies

A beautiful truth that I heard:

Women may have no office, no CV, they can use themselves as a role model to give others hope.  They and their lives become their CV.  Women’s narratives become resources. 

HIV is better than Ebola.  HIV gives time, Ebola takes it.

Colonialization took power from women and gave it to men.  I think this is something that Americans, as a colonial power, need to really look at.  This is a legacy.  Not a good legacy, but it is one.

CEDAW, the people who are against it don’t like the portions dealing with women’s reproductive rights.  They don’t want women to have control of their own bodies.  Monitoring and accountability are the teeth that are missing from the CEDAW document.  This reminds me of the current issue with Iran and the nuclear power treaties that in progress.  Men really do not like being held accountable, or to trust others with power.

Finally:  The United States is not good about ratifying international treaties. 

My impressions today, April 11, 2015, as I wrap up this summary of what I heard and learned at the UN CSW in March, 2015:  Women are treading water.  We have a long way to go and just as with many issues in the world, change is very slow.  We can hold hope in knowing that slavery is now illegal, women in many countries have the right to vote and in many Christian denominations women are ordained as clergy and are in leadership positions as heads of church bodies.  We know that change can and will take place.  I grieve for the women that need the change right now, or needed it yesterday. 

At the moment the three issues that seem most urgent to me are:

1.  Women’s participation in the political arena of the world.  This is not merely a woman/women suddenly walking into a board room.  This is girl children being educated through primary and secondary school and going on to University.  This is girl children learning to think critically and understanding their worth as daughters of God.

2.  Addressing violence against women.  This is not merely women being hit or beaten.  This includes child marriage and other ways of violating women and girl children.

3.  Women’s access to knowledge of reproductive rights and services and the ability to obtain those services.

Amen?

AMEN!