Progress at CSW70 despite increasing pushbacks against gender equality
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Shobha Shukla – CNS
Contd from March 19
Corporate capture lurks
Commenting on the deliberations at CSW70 Maitree Mazumdar said, “There has also been reluctance to address the impunity of the private sector in the privatisation of essential public services, climate injustice, human rights violations, and development projects that deepen inequalities between countries and people. These harms are closely tied to development models that prioritise economic growth and profit over people's rights. Yet, these models remained unquestioned, making strong corporate accountability and repa- rative remedies essential. These realities demand stronger accountability for human rights violations committed by both state and non-state actors. Justice cannot exist without demo- cratising power and resources or confronting the systems that produce injustice."
Agrees Ayshka that “Justice for all women and girls is not a service but a political, economic, and structural struggle. It is systematically obstructed by patriarchal, militarised, and fascist systems manifested through war economies, arms trade, corporate capture, and fossil fuel-based extractive models that dispossess indigenous commu- nities. Therefore, achieving justice requires the dismantling of these systems, redistribution of power, demilitarisation, protection and expansion of civic spaces, and the meaningful leadership of feminist movements at all levels."
Shrinking space for feminist voices of the Global South: a troubling reality
Michelle Anzaya, a feminist leader from Africa, said that civil society participation has always been central to the strength and legitimacy of CSW. But the space for civil society participation, particularly for feminist activists from the Global South, is shrinking.
Many African women and girls are facing increasingly restrictive access to participation. When feminist leaders, grassroots organisers, and community advocates cannot access spaces like CSW, the global agenda risks being shaped without the voices of those who are most directly affected by inequality and injustice.
Michelle called upon UN member states and the CSW Bureau to uphold meaningful, holistic, and inclusive participation as a core principle of CSW processes and to address the structural and systemic barriers that continue to limit the effective participation of women and civil society from the Global South, including the restrictive visa regimes. Also, the UN system must ensure that CSW outcomes reflect the lived realities and priorities of women and girls across all regions.
What do the feminists say?
Feminists call upon government leaders to deliver on gender equality and justice. They deem “Govts, corporations, UN entities, and international institutions duty- bearers and feminist movements as rights holders. And as rights holders, young feminist movements must have meaningful decision-making power and protection from reprisals online and offline. These are obligations and not optional commitments."
And as Asel Dunga- naeva, a human rights activist from Kyrgyzstan said: Justice demands structural transformation, redistribution of power and resources, demilitarisation of economies, and decolonisation of global governments by dismantling systems of power that perpetuate inequality. Without transforming these structural conditions, access to justice cannot be realised.
Contd from March 19
Corporate capture lurks
Commenting on the deliberations at CSW70 Maitree Mazumdar said, “There has also been reluctance to address the impunity of the private sector in the privatisation of essential public services, climate injustice, human rights violations, and development projects that deepen inequalities between countries and people. These harms are closely tied to development models that prioritise economic growth and profit over people's rights. Yet, these models remained unquestioned, making strong corporate accountability and repa- rative remedies essential. These realities demand stronger accountability for human rights violations committed by both state and non-state actors. Justice cannot exist without demo- cratising power and resources or confronting the systems that produce injustice."
Agrees Ayshka that “Justice for all women and girls is not a service but a political, economic, and structural struggle. It is systematically obstructed by patriarchal, militarised, and fascist systems manifested through war economies, arms trade, corporate capture, and fossil fuel-based extractive models that dispossess indigenous commu- nities. Therefore, achieving justice requires the dismantling of these systems, redistribution of power, demilitarisation, protection and expansion of civic spaces, and the meaningful leadership of feminist movements at all levels."
Shrinking space for feminist voices of the Global South: a troubling reality
Michelle Anzaya, a feminist leader from Africa, said that civil society participation has always been central to the strength and legitimacy of CSW. But the space for civil society participation, particularly for feminist activists from the Global South, is shrinking.
Many African women and girls are facing increasingly restrictive access to participation. When feminist leaders, grassroots organisers, and community advocates cannot access spaces like CSW, the global agenda risks being shaped without the voices of those who are most directly affected by inequality and injustice.
Michelle called upon UN member states and the CSW Bureau to uphold meaningful, holistic, and inclusive participation as a core principle of CSW processes and to address the structural and systemic barriers that continue to limit the effective participation of women and civil society from the Global South, including the restrictive visa regimes. Also, the UN system must ensure that CSW outcomes reflect the lived realities and priorities of women and girls across all regions.
What do the feminists say?
Feminists call upon government leaders to deliver on gender equality and justice. They deem “Govts, corporations, UN entities, and international institutions duty- bearers and feminist movements as rights holders. And as rights holders, young feminist movements must have meaningful decision-making power and protection from reprisals online and offline. These are obligations and not optional commitments."
And as Asel Dunga- naeva, a human rights activist from Kyrgyzstan said: Justice demands structural transformation, redistribution of power and resources, demilitarisation of economies, and decolonisation of global governments by dismantling systems of power that perpetuate inequality. Without transforming these structural conditions, access to justice cannot be realised.