You may have been disappointed to hear that CSW 56 concluded without agreed conclusions. This is what Michelle Bachelet, UN Women Executive Director, had to say about this.
http://www.unwomen.org/2012/03/impasse-at-commission-on-status-of-women-deeply-regrettable/
NGO CSW has collected photos from the International Women’s Day March on March 8, 2012 near the UN. Women were invited to write a cause they are active in on yellow sashes that they wore while marching.
View photos of the march taken by Nancy Eagan here!
Bonnie Fatio of Switzerland, Goodwill Ambassador for the World YWCA, on what she learned about inter-generational work from portraying Naomi in the Biblical story of Ruth for Ecumenical Women morning worship.
Last Friday at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York, Bread for the World and the Presbyterian Office at the United Nations co-sponsored a side event called 1,000 Days: Improving Nutrition for Rural Women. Other co-sponsors included the Women’s Missionary Society of the AME Church, Franciscans International, the 1,000 Days Partnership, Save the Children, and Family Care International. The effort was coordinated by staff at The Hunger Project. A standing room only crowd of over 100 came out to hear about the importance of maternal and child nutrition in the 1,000 day period between pregnancy and a child’s second birthday.
The expert panel was moderated by Mary Ellen McNish, president of The Hunger Project. Lucy Sullivan of the Washington, DC-based 1,000 Days Partnership office shared basic information about how critical it is for women and children to have good nutrition in the 1,000 days period from pregnancy to a child’s second birthday. If malnourished, children can suffer permanent cognitive and physical delays, including shorter height, poor eye sight, diminished intellectual capacity, and weakened immune function.
Isatou Jallow, from the Gender Unit at the World Food Programme framed the issue. It is critical for women, particularly rural women, to have control of land and money because women are responsible for feeding children. And women are more likely than men to invest any profit back into their family.
Carolyn Miles, the first woman to be president and CEO of Save the Children shared about their 2012 Nutrition Report. She highlighted ways in which Save the Children includes nutrition in their programs to address poverty and hunger issues with women and children.
Catherine Bertini, Professor of Public Administration and International Affairs, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University addressed the role of the US government in improving nutrition for women and children. She talked about the Global Health Initiative and Feed the Future, the two flagship programs administered by USAID that address nutrition within the larger context of health and agriculture. She also highlighted the importance of the domestic WIC program, which helps thousand of mothers and young children improve their nutrition.
After the presentations I talked about “1,000 Conversations,” the vehicle that the Women of Faith for the 1,000 Days Movement is using to spread the word about proper nutrition in the 1,000 day window. Women of faith are pledging to have 1,000 conversations in 1,000 days about maternal and child nutrition. It is critical that we spread the word about nutrition and put pressure on our government officials to continue to fund and promote nutrition programs. To learn more about “1,000 Conversations,” visit www.bread.org/go/1000days and “like” www.facebook.com/womenoffaith1000days.
Nancy Neal is associate for denominational women’s organization relations at Bread for the World and a member of the Presbyterian Church delegation to the Commission on the Status of Women.
As we leave New York and the UN, heading for home, let’s be sure to take one another and the joy of worship together at CCUN home with us in our hearts, buoyed by the beat of Caitlin Reilley Beck’s drumming.
Bernice Cosey Pulley speaks about the important part the YWCA played in her life, and invites us to “google” Anne Hutchinson!
Peng Leong, volunteer at the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations, met Theresa Symons during the International Women’s Day March. She interviewed Theresa about her ministry. Here’s how Theresa responded:
I am working as the Executive Director of Pusat Kebajikan Good Shepherd (Good Shepherd Welfare Centre) in Malaysia.
The primary focus of our work is with women and children experiencing crisis situations such as domestic violence, pregnancy crisis, abuse and other forms of crisis. We also work with women who come from impoverished backgrounds especially those living in rural areas with minimal access to basic services such as education, healthcare, water, sanitation and decent wages. I oversee 5 residential services and 6 preventive programs in different parts of Malaysia.
This is my first CSW and it was an awesome experience for me. It was so good to with many women from different parts of the world, sharing the same joy, challenges and passion in advancing the status of women and girls; especially in the areas of human rights and basic necessities such as education, water and sanitation, health and decent wages. It was good to hear stories, to exchange best practices, to network with like minded women and to know that there is a wealth of information and resources available in different parts of the world.
I leave the CSW a different person from when I first came – equipped with more information, made some new friends and learned how to use human rights documents for advocacy and systemic change. I praise God for this opportunity and privilege to be here.
The picture shows Theresa (r) and Peng (l) at the International Women’s Day March.
Peng Leong wrote this article.
The following are a list of statements submitted by different delegations of Ecumenical Women regarding CSW56.
Society of Catholic Medical Missionaries
If you would like to read any other statements, they can be found at: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/csw56/documentation.htm
United Methodist Women supported delegate, Tomoko Arakawa from Japan’s Asian Rural Institute, says we need food and life. Commission on status of women, 2012.
UN Womenwatch UN Gender Equality Newsfeed
