Sharing RC at a Gathering of Global Feminists
The United Nations Committee on the Status of Women holds a yearly two-week meeting in New York City, USA, to discuss the situation of women and girls and agree on next steps for eliminating discrimination and violence against women and “leveling the playing field.”
At the same time, thousands of women—and some male allies—gather at a parallel event to discuss the situation of women and girls in their local communities, learn from each other’s successes, build relationships, and renew their hope, solidarity, and global sisterhood. It is the largest annual gathering of feminists in the world! And over the years No Limits for Women has played a good role in it.
The Non-Governmental Organization Committee on the Status of Women in New York (NGO CSW NY) hosts the parallel event. Last year I joined its executive committee, and this year I co-chaired the committee that planned the two-week gathering. Nine thousand people registered for the event.
Despite the rise of authoritarian regimes around the globe, and the push from the wealthy capitalist nations to cut off or decrease international aid to any progressive organization serving women and girls, the global women’s movement has made important gains. Women from Latin America said that the feminist movement is the most vibrant movement fighting for social justice in their region. Education for girls has continued to be one of the most effective interventions for creating good outcomes across all issues.
We heard, over and over, that the attacks on women are structural, systemic, and global and that we need solutions that are structural, systemic, and global. I have never heard so many women talk about the need for a just transition to a global economic system that supports women and girls and moves toward sustainability from the perspective of climate change.
Key goals were gaining access to affordable green energy, eliminating war, promoting refugee rights, and creating feminist foreign policies in the United States and Europe.
I did the following in my role on the executive committee:
- I facilitated a one-day workshop for the committee in which they listened to one another, shared life stories, and committed to working on the group members’ internalized sexism and racism. I circulated a set of agreements for how we were going to treat each other during our collective project, which helped us avoid confusion, use listening exchanges, and stay on task.
- On the opening day of the two-week parallel event we held a gathering for nine hundred women. I moderated it and shared RC insights throughout the day. At one point I facilitated a mini-session—nine hundred women exchanged a few minutes of time. It was incredible!
- I facilitated a session on networking, for a hundred and twenty women. I gave a short introduction to the need for emotional healing in the women’s movement and talked about listening to each other and creating a safe space in which we can show joy, grief, fear, and anger. We broke into small topic groups (such as on climate change, reproductive rights, and violence) in which the women exchanged equal time to talk and discharge. The evening was a huge success. The women loved not having to (yet again!) listen to the experts but instead have room to connect with other women and feel their feelings.
Being part of an international movement has helped me learn not only about women’s big wins in the United States but also that much of the energy and leadership in the global movement is coming from outside the United States.
Brooklyn, New York, USA
Reprinted from the RC e-mail
discussion list for leaders of South,
Central, and West Asian-heritage people