FEMNET | Her Voice Matters Everywhere, Everytime - Update of FEMNET's Footprints in March 2018

Her Voice Matters Everywhere, Everytime – Update of FEMNET's Footprints in March 2018

By FEMNET
18 Apr 2018

The 62^nd Session on the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW62) held in New York from 12^th to 23^rd March 2018 culminated in the Agreed Conclusions – a set of concrete recommendations to be implemented by governments at the international, regional, national and local level – and which women’s rights organizations we will use to hold policymakers to account in order to move the commitments from paper to reality! The CSW62 this year has been herald by gender equality advocates as progressive – with the adoption of the Agreed Conclusions by UN Member States, recalling the disappointment of no agreed conclusions being arrived at in 2012 when a similar theme was under review focusing on women and girls living in rural communities –i.e. “the empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, development and current challenges.”
FEMNET members and secretariat staff participating at the CSW62 leveraged on the African Women’s CSW62 Advocacy Position & Policy Recommendations co-created during the Pre-CSW62 Africa Regional Strategy Meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to strategically lobby and influence the discussions and final outcome. Check out the blogs FEMNET’s #CSW62 ReelFeel; Reflecting on the CSW62 Agreed Conclusions: Tracing African feminists footprints prior to and during #CSW62 and curated conversations on the twitter hashtag #CSW62Africa;   and Media articles: Campaigners take on US embassies for denying women visas; Standing ovation for Kenyan woman’s speech in New York; and Young women call for open dialogue on issues affecting them.
Dinah Musindarwezo is Moving On!
After being FEMNET’s Executive Director in the last 6 years, Dinah Musindarwezo is moving on!
A bold feminist with an unmatched level of expertise on gender equality and development issues, Dinah has been an incredible team member and we will definitely miss her – even as we look forward to connecting with her within the women’s movement space .
As the Feminist-In-Chief, managing the day-to-day running of the organization, Dinah was always on the move, working tirelessly with the team at the Secretariat, members and partners to ensure that FEMNET was effectively and efficiently working towards her vision of an African society where gender equality is achieved and women and girls enjoy their rights and live in dignity. Her deep passion for women’s empowerment, gender justice and equal rights for all was evident throughout her tenure at FEMNET. Dinah has emerged as a forceful opinion leader shaping the women’s rights narrative through the mainstream and social media platforms.
Her stellar leadership, open-mindedness and her poignant words will forever remain in our hearts and FEMNET is truly grateful for her assiduous efforts for the cause.
In the words of Dinah, “as feminists, we all have a role to play in making change happen in line with transforming and dismantling patriarchal beliefs and norms” so we say Aluta Continua Dinah!  FEMNET wishes you nothing but joy, success and blessings in your next journey and we know in you we have an avid advocate for women’s rights.
FEMNET deeply appreciates Dinah’s stellar leadership through the highs and lows of FEMNET and wishes her lot’s of blessings! Dinah can now be reached on email dinah.musinda@gmail.com
International Women’s Day
March every year, presents us an opportunity to celebrate the International Women’s Day. Yes, there has been progress in advancing women’s rights and women’s empowerment – but this progress has been too slow in many fronts, pointing to the need for continued and deliberate interventions to resist gender discrimination and keep #PressingForProgress in all spaces, in all levels.
FEMNET’s Executive Director joined Kenya’s NTV’s Morning Show where she boldly called on Kenya’s President to lead by example for instance in enforcing the two-thirds gender principle in appointing women Cabinet Secretaries as per the Constitution. Click here to WATCH the conversation.
Holding African Leaders Accountable to fulfilling Obligations and Commitments to Women’s Rights to their Bodily Autonomy & Integrity
On 8^th March, FEMNET in close partnership with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) – through the Embassy of Sweden in Lusaka, Zambia launched a four-year programme strategic partnership that aims at strengthening women’s voices in influencing policies and decisions affecting them at the national, regional and global levels as well as facilitating women’s leadership in policy influencing and advancing their rights to their bodily autonomy and integrity. Specifically, the programme will also focus on advocating for access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), prioritizing on ending female genital mutilation, access to safe and legal abortion and ending child and forced marriages in six target countries in four sub-regions of Africa including Zambia and Mozambique in Southern Africa, Tanzania and Rwanda in Eastern Africa and, Liberia and Guinea Conakry in Western Africa. For more information reach out to FEMNET’s Head of Programmes on email progmanager@femnet.or.ke

Click here to Download/ Read/ Share FEMNET’s March 2018 E-Bulletin