 |
| Yassin at the CSW |
Think
Young Women (TYW) in its strive to create and lead change is pleased to
continue its participation in international events and foras as part of
continued efforts to highlight the participation and empowerment of young women
on the global stage.
Two
young women who are executive members of TYW, Yassin Nyan and Aisha Keita
attended the 58th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of
Women (CSW) from the 10th to the 21st March 2014 at the
UN Headquarters in New York as part of the Vice President’s delegation. Other
members of the delegation were; The Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly
Hon. Mrs. Fatou Mbye, The Director of Social Welfare Mrs. Fanta Bai Secka, Mrs.
Haddy Dandeh Jabbie Vice President of the Female Lawyers’ Association of The
Gambia (FLAG), representatives from UNFPA and UNDP, Gambia Government staff,
NGOs representatives; the Network on Gender-Based Violence Haddy Mboge Barrow
and Mrs. Fatou Jah, President of The Gambia Women’s Federation.
As
part of activities in this year’s CSW, they attended a series of meetings and
events that took place geared towards deliberating on the main theme of the
event ‘Challenges and Achievements in the Implementation of the MDGs for Women
and Girls.’ They also participated in bilateral meetings between the
Gambia Government Delegation headed by Her Excellency The Vice President of the
Republic Madam Isatou Njie Saidy and global institutions like UNFPA, UN WOMEN amongst others.
Various
issues challenging women worldwide were discussed in a series of High level
meetings, symposia and side events organised by UN Agencies, country delegates
and international NGOs. These issues ranged from education, healthcare,
agriculture, access to productive resources, equal access to opportunities,
encouraging women and girls to venture into the sciences, to name a few.
Some
of the key sessions attended included:
‘To
2015 and Beyond; Putting Girls’ Education at the Heart of the Agenda’ organised by
UNICEF
This
session sought to take a keen look into the world situation as far as girls’
education is concerned and measure progress made in this area since the MDGs
came into being as well as explore the successes and gaps in attaining the
different levels of education for girls. Among issues highlighted was the
relationship between girls’ education and child wellbeing and survival as well
as how gender equality impacts the wellbeing of young women and their fertility
rates.
A key
power statement that emerged during this discussion was “Education is the vaccine of
the 21st Century”. By educating women and girls it
becomes easier for other interventions to take effect.
‘Good
for Gender Equality, Good for the Economy: Getting Girls into Science,
Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM)’ organised by the United Kingdom and deliberated on by
Partners UNESCO DG, GSK (a global pharmaceutical and research company), Tanzanian
Govt
Globally,
women represent only 30% of researchers globally. The reason for the lack of
diversity in women’s participation in the sciences was explored in depth in
this session as well as the importance of women’s involvement in STEM areas.
These were three main reasons; women’s equality, opportunity and for each
country’s growth. To achieve this, the identification and support of role
models for girls and the integration of gender sensitivity into science
education is pivotal. Better data is needed to design sharper policies to
address this and by sharing best practices with stakeholders we act globally
while working on the ground.
‘Intergenerational Dialogue on Faith, Culture,
HIV and Reproductive Health and Rights’ organised by World Council of Churches
and Partners; Symposium: “Driving Down
Maternal Deaths through Evidence-Based Policy and Technology: Anaemia,
Postpartum Haemorrhage and Digital Medicine” organised by the Global Alliance
for Women’s Health and partners; and ‘Addressing Violations of the Sexual and
Reproductive Health and Rights of Women Living with HIV in Healthcare Settings’
jointly organised by UNDP, UNAIDS, International Community of Women Living with
HIV/AIDS(ICW) and Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR)
These
sessions sought to explore the barriers that hinder women’s access to
reproductive and general health services. These range from religious and
cultural norms to HIV/AIDS and of course the ever present denominators of
poverty and exclusion among others. Some recommendations were put forward in order
to tackle these problems and they include: making use of sport, music and art
as tools of advocacy and sensitisation, using radio to reach out to rural
populations, removal of parental consent requirements for young people to
access sexual and reproductive health services (SRHS) and at national level the
decriminalisation of sex work to enable sex workers come out without fear to
access preventive services.
Other
sessions the young women delegates participated in were:
‘Lesson
Learnt in Country: How to End Child, Early and Forced Marriage organised by
PLAN international; Indicators for monitoring Gender Equality: Lessons Learnt
for the MDGs’ organised by UN Women, UN Statistics Division and Partners; ‘Assessing
Ghana’s implementation of the MDGs: Best Practices, Opportunities, Challenges
and the Way Forward organised by Ghana delegation’; ‘The Voices of African
Women and Girls in the Post-2015 Development Agenda’ organised by UN Women and
the Special Youth Envoy of the Secretary General; and ‘Closing the Gender Gap in
Agriculture’ organised by FAO, IFAD and IFPRI.
Yassin
and Aisha were also invited to a Young Women’s Caucus organised by the World
YWCA. The purpose of this caucus was to bring together young women delegates to
put up recommendations based on their countries’ contexts and realities to be
featured in the Post 2015 agenda.
MILEAD
Fellows Panel
Both
young women also participated in the panel organised by the Moremi Initiative
for Women’s Leadership in Africa, in collaboration with UN Women-Africa as
MILEAD Fellows. The MILEAD Fellows represent a regional network of Africa’s
most extra-ordinary young women leaders. They are emerging young women leaders
who are already engaged in actively leading change on critical issues in their
communities. Twenty-five Fellows are selected each year through a highly
competitive selection process and criteria, including their outstanding
leadership promise, community service accomplishments and commitment to the
advancement of women in Africa.
As
fellows of the Moremi Initiative for Young Women’s Leadership in Africa
(MILEAD) both Yassin (2011 fellow) and Aisha (2012 fellow) were opportune to
speak to an audience of diverse backgrounds from different countries about
their MILEAD experience, their MiChange projects, and how the programme as a
whole has impacted their lives as individuals and as young women advocates. For
more information on the MILEAD programme you can visit their website on –www.moreminitiative.com. Other MILEAD
fellows from the different year groups who attended this year’s CSW also spoke
at the event. They included young women counterparts from Liberia, Uganda,
Senegal, Ethiopia and Nigeria.
The
two young women are now back in the country and will with the collaboration of
the membership of Think Young Women work towards implementing recommendations
from the country relevant to our context while making use of the best practices
learnt during interactions with counterparts during the event. Participation at
this important event was essential in exposing these young women and the work
that TYW does.
As
Aisha rightly said “It offered a unique platform to showcase best practices of
empowering and inspiring the next generation of young female leaders, as well
as contribute towards the Post 2015 discourse”
 |
| Aisha during one of the sessions |
