Insights from the UN CSW: Women’s Rights Are Human Rights

by Kari Litscher

After their participation in the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in March, participants were eager to share their  experiences with panel attendees at Mount Carmel Bluffs in Dubuque, Iowa. The panelists included BVMs Rose Mary (Sebastian) Meyer, Gwen (Leontia) Farry, and Roberta (Caritas) White; and Mariah Reeves, principal of Wahlert Catholic High School, and senior Josie Wolbers and junior Olivia Hilby from the Wahlert Social Justice Club.

Empowering Young Women
The discussion began with a reflection on the founding principles of the United Nations in 1945 and its ongoing commitment to gender equality, exemplified by conventions like the CSW.

Individual lifestyle choices, broader sustainable goals, and inter-generational influence was emphasized in instilling confidence in young women. Gwen shares, “The influence older folks have on young women is important. Young women need to know that they are important, that they can do it, that they have influence.”

Challenges and Realities
Challenges to gender norms and rights, particularly in African countries, were addressed, along with the economic implications of undervaluing care work. At the UN, a panel of women from Kenya, Ethiopia, and Uganda discussed how there are very few women in leadership, serving instead in roles as secretaries, cleaners, and domestic roles. Succinctly put, “Men are landowners, women are land workers.”

Purpose and Passion
Impacted by what she heard, Mariah shares, “To walk alongside young women . . . and help them envision that and really see that into fruition is the most powerful thing that I can possibly think of.” She explored concepts of “finding a purpose vs. finding a major” . . . and that finding your vocation is where passion, joy, and a sense of God’s calling really come together.

Advocacy and Leadership
Roberta especially enjoyed the town hall meeting, with Secretary General António Guterres, stating, “They introduced him as our feminist secretary general, which is very, very true because he has worked so hard for women’s rights . . . he said, ‘poverty has a female face and power is never given, it has to be taken.’ We need women at the table.”

Establishing Goals
Rose Mary agrees, “By 2030, an estimated 342 million women and girls will be living on less than $2.15 a day. And that is in spite of all the work that’s being done around the world. Violence against children is the focus of one of the United Nations groups.” She shared that the UN has 17 goals for women and children, including no poverty and zero hunger. She says that these are “very revolutionary ideas and yet, they’re very basic . . . the UN has to depend on all of us in order to have that happen.”

Grassroots Action
Inspired by their trip, Josie and Olivia held a bake sale at Wahlert to raise funds for hygiene kits to battle “period poverty” in Tanzania. Period poverty is lacking access to safe and hygienic products. Without them, girls miss school during their menstrual periods. Each hygiene kit costs $15 and will last four years.

Due to regulations, Josie and Olivia couldn’t hold their fundraiser on school grounds. With inspired ingenuity, they took their table across the street and sold their goods. They share, “Through the Social Justice Club, we decided that we wanted to do a bake sale to raise money . . . all of our members brought in items . . . it was completely voluntary.” They were surprised by the community support, raising almost $500.

Inspired by the students’ initiative, sisters and associates raised over $1,500 to contribute to the cause. Both the UN visit and panel discussion serve as a powerful reminder of the transformative potential of initiative, passion, and collaboration in overcoming obstacles and effecting meaningful change for women around the world

Related: “My BVM and UCC Faiths Intersect Giving Me Hope and Strength” by Associate Dr. Sherry Warren

This story was featured in:

SPRING 2024: BVMs on the Run Toward Justice

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