WO=MEN in New York

On 12 March 2026, Lawyers for Lawyers, in collaboration with its partners, hosted “Voices from the frontline: women lawyers advancing access to justice,” as side event during the 70th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70). The CSW priority theme this year focused on ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls.   The event, co-sponsored by the International Bar Association Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), the American Bar Association (ABA), and the Governments of Mexico, the Netherlands, and Canada, brought together speakers from different regions to reflect on the critical role of women lawyers in advancing justice. The discussion highlighted the systemic barriers, specific risks, and discrimination they face, while amplifying their voices and fostering collaboration to strengthen accountability and promote gender equality within the legal profession. The event opened with remarks by Patricia Carranza Rodríguez, Director General of Intelligence, Innovat...

Artwork "Who can I trust with my story?" from ArtVism in Uganda During the 69th CSW, the Our Voices Our Futures (OVOF) consortium organised a creative ARTivism for Change space where bold protest sign-making, intimate film screenings, and thought-provoking feminist dialogues blended together. Over two days, March 12 and 13, 2025, artists, activists, and allies transformed the space into dynamic real-life canvases of empowerment, solidarity, and cultural and political resistance.   In the main space of the Blue Gallery participants engaged with various stations, including Button Making , Journaling with Art , Drawing , and Protest Sign Making . Participants moved between activities, creating powerful messages of resistance and hope. The creativity extended beyond the activities themselves. Access Denied The ACCESS DENIED campaign , initiated by WO=MEN, was set up to be a photo installation. It highlights the deep gap between the inclusive vision set forth at the 1995 Beijing ...

Anila Noor, New Women Connectors, at the CSW in New York The Commission on the Status of Women’s 69th session (CSW69), an influential global gathering on women’s rights, took place in New York between the 10th and 21st of March. This year’s focus at the global gathering is the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action , which is considered as one of the most progressive blueprints for women’s rights advancement. Leading up to this important event, New Women Connectors (NWC) held a webinar titled “We, Displaced Women: Leading the Transformation to Shape Peaceful Green Futures from Gender Justice to Climate Justice” in partnership with WO=MEN, as an effort to gather knowledge on the intersection of gender justice, climate change and displacement. Here, NWC shares some pertinent takeaways from this insightful webinar that was held on the 24th of February. The webinar featured three speakers with expertise across a range of topics, such as climate change, displacement and women-led grass...

Illustration from the report 'Women at the Intersection of Gender, Conflict & Climate Justice by GAGGA On March 12, the Equality Fund, the Global Alliance for Green and Gender Action (GAGGA), and the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office hosted an event at the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) exploring the nexus of gender, conflict, and climate. Each speaker underscored the deep interconnections between these critical issues. Hillary Clauson, Senior Policy Advisor at the Equality Fund, opened the session by providing an overview of this nexus, emphasizing the vital role of feminist responders in crisis situations. Noemi Grütter, Alliance Coordinator at GAGGA, followed with a presentation on their newly released report, Women at the Intersection of Gender, Conflict & Climate Justice. She explained that the report seeks to reframe the discourse by presenting the nexus through the lived experiences of those most affected.  Key findings includ...

Following many concerns and calls for support received from activists who were not able to come to New York, WO=MEN – jointly with members and partners - took the initiative to launch a campaign to call attention to the exclusion of defenders from meaningfully participating in the CSW: ACCESS DENIED! “Without the active participation of women and the incorporation of women’s perspective at all levels of decision-making, the goals of equality, development and peace cannot be achieved.” - Beijing Platform for Action The ACCESS DENIED campaign seeks to address the stark contrast between Beijing’s call for participation of women back in 1995 already and the reality of exclusion faced by many activists who had wished to be here at this 30 year anniversary of Beijing. Particularly activists from the global South , black and brown women, women with disabilities, youth, trans and gender non-binary people, sex workers and undocumented migrants face exclusion. Denied access due to visa obstacle...

The oppression we see now in Milei's Argentina is an attack on human rights. Forty years ago, there was a military dictatorship and some of the people attending this evening session during the 69th CSW in New York have seen the results of that oppression. It is unbelievable that some of the rights they fought for are now possibly being reversed. ‘We need to remember the past in order to move forward’.   On the evening of March 12, 2025, Mabel Bianco, a well-known feminist activist from Argentina who was selected by BBC as one of 100 ‘inspiring and influential women from around the world’ in 2019, leads a session about feminist responses to Milei’s Argentina. The right-wing politician Javier Milei was elected as president of Argentina in 2023, opposing mandatory sex education in schools and abortion (legalized in Argentina since January 2021). Moreover, he intends to rely more on private investments and even promised to eliminate ministries of education, health and public works. Bec...

Photo: panel presenters of Digital fascism, Digital capitalism, Far right funding On the 11th floor of the UN Church Center where the CSW69 NGO Forum sessions are organized, a lot of people gathered in the small room while the sun was coming in. It was packed. I was clearly not the only one who was curious to hear more about the big tech companies who fund hatred and provides a stage for fascism. Mona Eltawahy, journalist and advisory board member of The Institute for Journalism and Social Change, opened the session by stating what is happening in the world right now is not new. But how we are fighting back is. Money plays a big role in how well organized the anti-rights movement is. Digital trade impacts workers and workers' rights, and there is a power imbalance in the world that we really need to understand. Big tech taking over The influence of the big tech companies is felt all over the world. When there is no strong (digital) infrastructure, which is the case in many countr...

  All panel members together for the 'Stepping Up, Standing By and Speaking Out for Women's Rights Movements' CSW69 Side Event. Yesterday at the 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, Mama Cash co-hosted the  ‘Stepping Up, Standing By and Speaking Out for Women’s Rights Movements’ event, alongside Equality Fund, Alliance for Feminist Movements, Gender Funders CoLab, and  the governments of the United Kingdom, France, Mexico, and Canada. Jess Tomlin of the Equality Fund , co-moderator with Mama Cash's co-Executive Director Happy Mwende Kinyili,  introduced the panel, "We are here celebrating 30 years of incredible action and what I hope we come away with today is a reminder of the multiplicity of actors and actions that were mobilized 30 years ago across so many spheres."  Mama Cash co-Executive Director Saranel Benjamin opened the discussion with a presentation of the impact study Mama Cash commissioned for our 40th anniversary. Some key takea...