FEMNET | African Women and Girls @ CSW67

African Women and Girls @ CSW67

By Femnet
18 Oct 2023

The sixty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women was held via a hybrid methodology, virtual and in person participation from 6th to 17th March 2023. The priority theme was: Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls and the review theme was “Challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls (agreed conclusions of the sixty-second session).

In 2023, FEMNET and her members, together with members of the NGO CSW/Africa organized and facilitated a variety of activities aimed at ensuring that African that women and girls in all their diversity participate in the CSW 67 sessions and ensuring that women engage strategically and meaningfully contribute to processes leading up to, during and after the CSW 67. Below is a summary of ways we showed up, disrupted, contributed, engaged and re-imagined CSW67.

FEMNET curated and disseminated regular updates throughout the CSW67 period, including Update 1, Update 2, Update 3, Calendar of Events not to miss, and Africa CSO Position Statement
The #AfricaDisruptCSW67 was a space, co-curated and co-designed to allow African women and girls in all their diversity to deep dive into the CSW67 theme, challenging the patriarchal and colonial underpinnings embedded in the design of digital technology and re-imagining solutions, for and by Africans. More than 200 distinguished delegates from 21 African countries convened virtually and in Lilongwe, Malawi from the 28th February to the 2nd March 2023 for the second Africa CSW. The Lilongwe Declaration was co-created and used as key advocacy tool to influence and amplify the voices of African women and girls in the CSW67 agreed conclusions.
The virtual Pre-CSW67 Strategy Meeting by African Civil Society, Feminist & Women’s Rights Advocates on 22nd November 2022 in partnership with members of the NGO CSW/Africa, and with support from UN Women to consolidate the CSOs & WROs advocacy position and policy recommendations with key messages for influencing the governments’ position prior to and during CSW67.
Presented to policy makers the Key CSW67 Priorities during the Africa Pre-CSW67 Experts and Ministerial consultative meetings convened by UN Women and AU.
Africa Women’s Regional Caucus Session 1 and 2: These were moderated spaces for participants to discuss and reflect upon regional advocacy and their region’s most relevant and pressing issues. FEMNET, through the caucus mobilized African women and girls to participate in CSW67 and facilitated women and girls to effectively engage and contribute to processes leading up to, during and after the Commission. The two sessions were attended by 130+ African women and girls who endorsed the CSW67 priorities & demands and the Lilongwe Declaration and shared strategies and opportunities to feed into the Agreed Conclusions.
Co-organizing the following 5 parallel events during CSW 67 in New York.
- Catalysing intergenerational action to eliminate ageism and advance gender equality- virtual
- Technology, Women’s Rights and the Changing Nature of Work- virtual
- Recognizing and Safeguarding African Indigenous Technology & Innovation for Women and Girls- in person
- Africa Women’s Regional Caucus Session 1- virtual
- Africa Women’s regional caucus Session 2- in person

FEMNET and NGO CSW/Africa led the Rotate the venue of CSW campaign. FEMNET met with the Chair of the CSW Bureau and presented the Position Statement and invited her to endorse the rotate CSW venue calls by CSOs/ WROs. A resolution was circulated and endorsed by over 500+ feminists, activists, young people, civil society and movement leaders.

Thank you to all our development partners and co-conspirators for their unwavering dedication and generous contributions. We look forward to continuing this incredible journey together.