Amidst women’s celebrations, there is a lot more to be done

There is gloom, but the United Nations is optimistic that it will bloom for women and girls across the world.

The 70th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70), is ongoing from 9th March and runs till 19th March in New York at the UN headquarters.

During the summit, it was revealed that there is a regression in the fight for women’s rights and widespread legal inequality. It was reported that women hold 64% of the legal rights of men in spite decades of activism for women’s rights and justice.

The findings were in the UN Secretary-General Report for CSW70.

Under the theme, Ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls, the meeting will stress the need to fight digital abuse, specifically AI-generated deepfake images targeting women and call for strengthening legal systems to enforce equality.

So dire is the matter of the need to strengthen legal systems that the UN Women Executive Director Sima Bous said, “Legal equality remains out of reach for every woman in the world," noting that at the current pace, it will take 286 years to close the legal protection gap.

Under the chairmanships of Maritza Chan Valverde of Costa Rica, the UN Commission on the Status of Women outlined five “transformative actions that will be discussed and negotiated in the final session.

They are:

1. End Impunity: Close legal loopholes and enforce existing protections for survivors.

2. Repeal Discriminatory Laws: Target the specific statutes that still treat women as second-class citizens in marriage, property, and work.

3. Survivor-Centred Funding: Shift resources toward legal aid and specialized services that prioritize the safety of those seeking justice.

4. Empower Grassroots Movements: Direct funding to the women's organizations that act as first responders.

5. Digital Governance: Launch new frameworks to combat algorithmic bias and online gender-based violence. 

Over time, since  June 21, 1946, when the UN Commission on the Status of Women was established, it has focused on setting standards and formulating international conventions to change discriminatory legislation and foster global awareness of women’s issues.

However, the first session took place a year later in February 1947. The sessions are 70 as opposed to 80 because the commission did not have annual meetings in its early years. [sourced from UN Women.org]

Marking 70 years, the struggle for women’s rights, justice and empowerment trudges on because, as UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Anne Hathaway put it: “We celebrate, yes. We grieve as well, but no matter what, we keep going until it’s done.”