CSW: "They Don't Stone a Tree That Does Not Have Fruits"

Speaking the Language of Women and Girls

Today was an incredible experience at the UN Commission on the Status of Women! Already I feel as if I am speaking another language, a language of women and girls worldwide. I have a pass that allows me in and out of the official UN building and I have had the opportunity to sit in meetings with global governmental leaders, elected officials, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs)! 

Celebrating and Advancing Women's Political Participation 

At a governmental event at the UN building, what is called side events at CSW, there was a great panel that discussed the political participation of women. The speakers spoke from their local experiences in the United Kingdom, Canada, Malawi, and New Zealand. 

Although I attended four different sessions today that were all impactful and important, I wanted to share about this event specifically because I find it to be the most influential to many of the issues we are facing in North Carolina. This discussion can very much influence how we work to continue the goals of Cities for CEDAW in North Carolina. The following notes are quotes, recommendations, and reflections from this event.

Barriers to the Political Field for Women

• social media abuse deters women from political participation
• women think they do not have the "look" or the "academic background" of a stereotypical politician
• there's a low retention rate of female politicians
• patriarchy leads women to believe that we are in competition with each other and that "we are each other's enemies."

Gender Equitable Approaches

• male and female co-leadership approach should be the goal: this includes one man and one woman chairing all committees
• gender balanced approach like the Green Party in New Zealand: where they have a type of quota for the number of women that run in their party; they now have 75% women in leadership in the party
• create deliberate policies to increase women in politics

Memorable Quotes

"They don't stone a tree that does not have fruits."   -Representative from Malawi

The speaker was referring to how women are treated and abused in many countries. She said that this is a common saying in her country and it reminds her that women struggle because many men see the power, resilience, and resources that women have and are afraid of them.

"It's not real unless it's in the budget."  -Representative from UK

This speaker was discussing the steps that the UK is taking to consistently have a gender lens and he was sure to add that real change is written into policy and written explicitly in the budget as well! This influenced me as a fellow to ensure that when we speak with local officials about our gender analysis, we recommend that the gender equity changes they make are written line by line in the next budget so that WomenNC and constituents can hold them accountable.

"We shouldn't just ask 'what are women doing for women?'"  -Representative from Canada

This speaker was referring to the fact that men in office also represent women. It is not the sole purpose of women in government to only specialize on women's issues. Not only because they represent all constituents but also because many governments do not even have enough women to attempt to do that anyway. We must hold men accountable to women's rights while also jointly advocating for more women in elected and appointed representation.