Everywoman Everywhere members were out in force at last month’s Commission on the Status of Women, an annual UN conference in New York City to promote gender equality, to share our purpose of a global treaty and ask for sign-ons. People were warm, receptive and enthusiastic—an indication that support for a global treaty to address violence against women and girls is spreading. This was evident in the number of new members who signed on as well: our numbers jumped by more than 500 to 1,836 members, in 142 nations, including 600 organizations. A huge thanks to everyone for their exhaustive work. Bravo!
As is our tradition at CSW, coalition members gathered at a coffeehouse midway through the conference. How wonderful it was to see everyone’s faces and hear updates on your work and lives. Here we share the powerful and poignant words of two members who spoke at the gathering.
Eleanor Nwadinobi, Everywoman Everywhere working group member; President, Widows Development Organisation (WiDO), Nigeria
A very warm welcome dear friends. Just before coming to this meeting, I was in the UN building sitting with a friend on a bench in the lobby when two ladies asking to join us. Of course, we invited them to sit and they immediately fished out their phone chargers. The closest socket was some meters away so they requested we move the bench closer. We agreed and the four of us proceeded to move the fairly heavy bench toward the socket. As we moved, I looked down at our hands and arms of different colours, and different muscular endowment, and what struck me was that no matter how different we are, once we have a singular, unified purpose, we can achieve our goals. In the same way that we moved furniture in the United Nations, we can shift the narrative, shift the agenda, shift the needle regarding the dignity and rights of every woman, and girl, everywhere. We have brought our different intellect, skills, expertise, experiences and stories and have woven the tapestry that is today, our global treaty on violence against women. The tapestry is made all the more beautiful by our diversity, and it is glued together by our singularity of purpose. It was so heartwarming to see our members on the cold streets of New York, and in the corridors of the parallel sessions, getting CSW attendees to sign up to bringing an end to violence against women, to sign up for zero tolerance, to sign up so that no longer would there be any hiding place for perpetrators of violence against women and girls. I look forward to going forward, just like a past political slogan of this country, we can really stand together, and say, ‘Yes We Can.’
Dr. Morissanda Kouyaté, Everywoman Everywhere working group member; Executive Director, Inter-African Committee (IAC), Ethiopia
It is an immense honor to be here among all those people who are very committed to the noble struggle for the restoration of the rights of women and girls. I would like to emphasize that we must be aware that some misconceptions must be abandoned, especially saying that we want to help women and girls for their rights; because helping someone assumes that the helper is in a better position than the person receiving the help. No! We are not helping girls and women to restore their rights; we are participating in their fight for their rights. They are the true fighters in the forefront. In this context, there is good news from Africa: The President of Guinea, Professor Alpha Condé, who held the leadership of the African Union in 2017, made great progress. Among other things, we must note his personal commitment and his appointment of some African heads of state in protecting the rights of women and girls. In this capacity, he appointed the President of Zambia, HE Edgar Lungu, as champion for the fight for the elimination of child marriage, while he himself has made great efforts against female genital mutilation. Since 2003, Africa has developed the Protocol of Maputo, which is one of the strongest documents protecting women and girls. So Africa is ready for our project of the Treaty on Violence against Women and Girls. The treaty is not only justified, but above all, possible, if we continue at this rhythm of work.
