Fighting the Good Fight: Women’s Rights Activism in a Time of Crisis, CSW51

Women in Iran face a tremendous challenge. They are fighting against all odds for equal rights in a country where there is entrenched patriarchy and rising religious extremism.

Elsewhere in the world, ongoing conflicts are escalating making it difficult for women’s groups to continue to work due to lack of security or access to resources. Resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan has forced many women to return to wearing the burqa, a literal and figurative example of the attempts to silence and mask women’s voices and identities.

While women are disproportionately affected in times of crisis, they are also key agents of change, upholding communities and families, and engaging in peaceful forms of resistance.

Women activists from Iran, Jordan, and Nigeria will discuss the challenges they face in this time of international crisis and share strategies women at the grassroots are implementing to secure their rights. Aminata Toure, senior advisor in the Technical Support Division in the Gender, Culture and Human Rights branch of the United Nations Populations Fund moderates.

The event will include the premier of a new 25-minute documentary Against All Odds: Women Partnering for Change in a Time of Crisis, which showcases the perspectives of activists from around the world including Afghanistan, Brazil, Egypt, Morocco, Lebanon, and Uzbekistan.

This is a parallel event of the 51st session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).