Life between 39th and 45th street:
Reflections on CSW 67
by Katinka Moonen - Gender Justice and SRHR specialist at Oxfam Novib
This is my last day at #CSW67. I have walked around 110.000 steps between my cozy (euphemism for super small) hotel room on 39th street and the different UN buildings on 44th and 45th. When walking these blocks in this city full of contrasts – inequalities – I come across many people like me, walking hastily from one session or negotiation to another, usually tired, sometimes full of hope but also sometimes feeling a bit desperate: are we listened to?
This post-COVID CSW is special and yet again, as others are saying, it is 'the usual'. Special, because it is the first-time people physically gathered again in big numbers: over 13.000 people came to New York for CSW! The usual, because although we are in big numbers, there are many more who couldn’t make it due to visa issues or lack of resources. To increase access, there is a strong plea by African CSOs for rotating the location of the CSW.
Power
This year’s theme, "Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls,’’ started many discussions about the power that governments and tech companies hold over the digital space. How people are being silenced or abused. How gender inequality is deepened because of lack to access to the internet for women and girls. How algorithms produce a white, male dominated digital culture.
But, also how the digital space still holds many opportunities for girls and women, in all their diversity, to inform, share and mobilize globally. And how important it is to re-claim this space.
The formal process of the CSW consists of almost around the clock negotiations towards agreed conclusions. Despite the hard work of, amongst others, the Dutch delegation, these conclusions are heavily influenced by conservative forces, whose main objectives are to exclude or minimize inclusive language and limit the decision making power of women and girls. The process has made me realise that the importance of the work we do within Masarouna, a five-year project mobilizing young people in the MENA region to claim their sexual reproductive health and rights.
"What we need, is safety and privacy by design, not exactly what tech companies, who want to move fast, are generally offering us."
- Emily Krasnor, UNFPA
Reality check!
Masarouna hosted a panel at CSW: Reality Check! Accelerating gender justice and SRHR through digital technologies. Our speakers discussed the importance of providing safe online spaces and cybersecurity. Hayat Mirshad, executive director of Fe-Male, said: "It is not much discussed in public, because it’s still a taboo. Culture and health are intertwined. It’s about patriarchal and stereotypical social norms, attitudes and perceptions. There is a lot of stigma and shame around [these] topics."
Catherine Poulton, a GBV in emergencies specialist at UNICEF, stated that it is essential to co-design these online spaces with girls from the very start. Emily Krasnor, a GBV in Emergencies Specialist, at UNFPA confirmed and added: "What we need, is safety and privacy by design, not exactly what tech companies who want to move fast are generally offering us."
Chrystine Mhanna, a journalist at Raseef22, explains how she stays safe but generates impact by writing personal stories using a pseudonym: "We should start with ourselves and write our personal stories; what it is we are struggling with on a daily basis." And yes, there are a lot of struggles!
A good start
However, I want to end these reflections on a positive note, which is that in nearly every conversation and every session people express they want solidarity. They want intergenerational exchange. They want to learn from each other and complement each other. And I think this CSW67 has definitely been a good start. So, let’s continue to work towards gender equality, together!
Written by Katinka Moonen, Gender Justice and SRHR Specialist at Oxfam Novib
Photos by Lara Yazbeck
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