CSW Day 3!
Today has been incredible! I went to several events
including one regarding Islam and women’s rights, Arab women and how they’re
affected because of the conflicts in the region, and the ministerial
roundtable. I met many passionate members of NGOs who are fighting for issues
that are very dear to my heart. I will focus on the parallel event on Arab
women. Three Arab women made up the panel and they were Palestinian, Bahraini,
and Egyptian. All three women have experienced trials and hardships within the
instability of the Middle East. Maryam who is from Bahrain explained that only
writing a CEDAW Shadow Report caused the women who were working on it to be
tortured and imprisoned. Azza, the Egyptian women, told us the story of a young
woman who was killed last month when she was on her way to Tahrir Square to lay
flowers in peaceful solidarity. She left behind a 4 or 5 year old son. This
woman came from the same neighborhood that my dad grew up in, in Alexandria,
Egypt. The funeral took place on his very street in their community’s Mosque.
The woman was even pro-Sisi (the new regime) but even though she was supporting
them, the police killed her. Afaf, the Palestinian woman told me a quote from a
Palestinian mother she knew that I’ll never forget. The mother said, “All I
want is to not feel that I might not see my child again when I send him off to
school.” All of their stories were truly heartbreaking but nothing new to me.
They had the necessary discussion of the double standard of the United Nations
and the necessity for reform. The fact that they emphasized the fact that they
don’t appreciate that oftentimes there is a rescue narrative showed me the
strength and commitment they have to achieving gender equality in all aspects
of life.
Tomorrow is our presentation day which means I’ll be taking
it easy in the morning and resting beforehand. I hope all of the flyers that
have been passed out have an impact and that our session will be hopefully full
with attendees. Wish us luck!
Sincerely,
Dina Shehata
What powerful stories when you can connect with them on such a personal level. It must be difficult sometimes to sit and listen to such sad tales, and the thought of a mother worrying when her child goes off to school. So sad. We are so privileged! Thanks for sharing, Dina.
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