Equality Now

Colombia has become the latest country to prohibit child marriage without exceptions. Civil society in Colombia has fought long and hard for this critical reform; with this law being the ninth such bill that has sought to address child marriage. It’s encouraging to finally see the outcome of years of dedicated work and collaboration pay off when all previous bills have failed. We are proud to have been part of this vital effort alongside local and regional organizations like Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage, Profamilia Colombia, Poderosas Colombia, Fundación Juanfe, La Colada, Las Guaguas, and Genfami, among countless others. Passing the law is only the first step; eradicating child marriage requires more than just legislation. The true impact of the law will depend on a strong commitment to its implementation and an intersectional approach. Read more about this important development: https://buff.ly/4i02B9w #SonNi?asNoEsposas #GirlsRights #Colombia #TogetherWeCan #EqualityNow

?? You're invited: Join us for an engaging conversation with leading experts as we explore the United Nations Human Rights Committee's recommendations for the United States—one year later. Don't miss this opportunity to be part of an essential dialogue on human rights and equality. For more information and to register for this LinkedIn Live event, click on the event post below ? #OnlineEvents #GenderEquality

Last week, Equality Now, with the National Crime and Research Centre, came together with critical state and non-state actors to try and make sense of the alarming statistics shared by the National Police Service that over the past 3 months 97 women have been killed in Kenya. The discussions revealed 4 key things: ?? The numbers are indeed correct and more women have been killed in Kenya this year than previous years with the most but not all victims being killed by intimate partners ?? That Femicide is at the end of the continuum of sexual and gender based and that if we have impunity for SGBV then the resultant effect can be femicide ?? We do not have a working definition for femicide in Kenya and we may need one if data is to be officially collected, interventions made and cases correctly prosecuted. ?? We must also frame issues correctly and not look at the killings as a single death no matter how horrible but systemic killings of women which require a comprehensive response Watch our highlights from the conversations ??? #EndFemicide #EndGBV

This first-ever Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children, co-hosted by the Governments of Colombia and Sweden in partnership with World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the United Nations Special Representative, brought together over 117 ministers. It was a critical moment to accelerate the Sustainable Development Goals and transform commitments into concrete actions. For Equality Now, it was an opportunity to advocate directly with governments and collaborate with allies. Key events we co-hosted included: ? A discussion with Colombian senators to advocate for the approval of a law banning child marriage without exceptions. The event provided a vital final push for its approval, a major step in ending child marriage in Colombia. ? A dialogue addressing child marriage in Latin America, emphasizing the structural causes tied to poverty and gender inequality. ? A panel on eradicating Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) globally, with a special focus in Colombia, the only country in the LAC region where FGM is recorded. ? A satellite event on sexual violence against children centering the voices of survivors. The path forward demands sustained advocacy, accountability, and survivor-centered policies to transform these promises into meaningful change. Together, we can create a future free from violence for all children. Read more here?https://lnkd.in/emJjAcv7 #EndViolenceAgainstChildren #EqualityNow #Bogotá2024

Find out #WhatsOn and where our team will be this week ? ??20 November 2024, Side Event at Beijing+30 Ministerial Conference - Bangkok, Thailand Equality Now’s Global Legal Advisor, Nawmi Naz Chowdhury is a panelist at The Promise of Comprehensive SRHR toward achieving the Beijing Platform of Action in Asia and the Pacific: A Critical Inquiry, speaking on FGM/C in Asia. Equality Now’s Communications Officer for South Asia, Aakansha Saxena will be joining her. ??20 November 2024, Mobilising Civil Society for Nationality Rights in Africa: Advancing the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Right to Nationality and the Eradication of Statelessness - Online Event Join our webinar to explore critical strategies for addressing statelessness in Africa. Equality Now’s Program Officer for Legal Equality, Deborah Nyokabi, along with other experts and partners, will discuss the role of civil society organizations in advocating for the ratification and implementation of the ACHPR Nationality Rights Protocol, which aims to secure nationality rights for all, especially women, children, and persons with disabilities. Register at https://lnkd.in/eF6-_N8P ??21 November 2024, One Year On: Experts Discuss US Response to United Nations Recommendations - Online Event Equality Now’s Communication Officer for North America, Mel Bailey, will be joined live by leading experts to talk about what partners, civil society organizations, lawyers and professionals like you can do to urge US action following the UN recommendations. Join us at https://lnkd.in/eMPbcmCR ??21-23 November 2024, FGM Convening - Nairobi, Kenya Equality Now’s Program Officer for Ending Harmful Practice,?Caroline Lagat, Africa Regional Coordinator,?Judy Gitau, and Africa Regional Director, Faiza Jama Mohamed, will be attending the Convening ‘Bridging Generations: Working Together to End FGM as Violence Against Women and Girls in Africa’. The Convening aims to address the critical need for a unified, intergenerational, and collaborative approach to eradicating #FGM. #GenderEquality #GenderEqualityEvents

It’s been a busy couple of weeks in the world of women’s rights and gender equality. Here’s your two-minute digest on the latest in women’s rights around the world ???

??This month, Equality Now and ARIJ Network (Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism) successfully concluded a transformative Training on Documenting Sexual and Gender-Based Violence and Digital Safety for young women in Egypt and Palestine. As part of the #YW4A program, this training delivered by ARIJ was crucial in empowering the next generation of female leaders, equipping them with the skills and knowledge to conduct interviews with survivors, campaign on social media, and accurately document SGBV cases. ??Effective documentation is essential in our advocacy mission, as it helps to highlight the severity of SGBV and drive policy changes for a safer, more equitable society. ??Recognizing the importance of digital safety, we also included vital sessions to ensure participants can protect themselves and their data online. Digital safety is critical to our work, enabling young women to advocate for change securely and confidently. We are pleased to collaborate with ARIJ's network, which has extensive expertise in investigative journalism and ensures top-notch training and support for young leaders. ?? ??? ????? ????????? ?? ???? ???? (???????? ??? ?? ??? ????? ?????????)? ??????? ????? ??????? ?????? ??? ????? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? ????????? ???????? ??????? ??????? ?? ??? ???????. ???? ?? ?????? #YW4A? ??? ??? ??????? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ???????? ????????? ???????? ????????? ???????? ??????? ?????? ??????? ?? ???????? ?????????? ?????? ??????? ??? ????? ??????? ?????????? ?????? ????? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? ????????? ????. ????? ??????? ?????? ????? ??????? ??????? ??????? ??????????? ???? ????? ?? ????? ????? ??? ??? ??????? ???? ????????? ???????? ?? ??? ????? ???? ?????? ???????. ?????????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ???? ????? ?????? ????? ????? ????? ???? ????????? ??? ????? ?????? ????????? ??? ????????. ??? ??????? ??????? ??? ???? ???????? ??? ???? ??????? ?? ?????? ??? ??????? ????? ????. ?????? ??????? ?? ???? ???? ?????????? ?? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? ??????? ??????????? ???? ????????? ??? ????? ??????? ???????? ???? ??????? ?????? ??????? ??????? #EqualityNow #ARIJ #YouthEmpowerment #SGBV #DocumentingViolence #Egypt #Palestine #GenderEquality #YW4A #MENA #DigitalSafetyFirst

We recently attended the 81st Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights in Banjul Gambia, which convened multiple ecosystem stakeholders under the discussion theme of building resilient education systems for increased access to inclusive, lifelong, quality, and relevant learning in Africa. Now more than ever, we continue to champion and advocate for the rights of women and girls, including access to education, while calling for action to the barriers that they face. Delivering our statement, Deborah Nyokabi, Program Officer Legal Equality, relayed our urgent call to address issues such as femicide in Africa, reform discriminatory family Laws in Africa, address technology-facilitated gender-based violence, accelerate action to end child marriage and address regression in sexual health and reproductive rights in Africa. In addition, we continue to note with concern multiple barriers to women and girls fully accessing their rights across the continent, including 16 countries that still deny women equal rights to pass on nationality to children and spouses and reservations of the Maputo protocol by 9 AU member states. Read our statement, interventions and and urgent call to action - https://buff.ly/3YKKYl6 #MaputoProtocol

??You’re invited! Throughout November, we have a number of #OnlineEvents, crafted exclusively for professionals like you. These events are designed to provide you with cutting-edge insights, innovative strategies, and the opportunity to connect with industry leaders. Discover them and register below ?? ??Breaking Barriers: Addressing Child, Early and Forced Marriage in Eurasia - Thursday, 14 November ??Register https://lnkd.in/er9_p2YR ??Mobilising Civil Society for Nationality Rights in Africa: Advancing the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Right to Nationality and the Eradication of Statelessness - Wednesday, 20 November ??Register https://lnkd.in/eF6-_N8P ??One Year On: Experts Discuss US Response to United Nations Recommendations - Thursday, 21 November ??Register https://lnkd.in/evkrvUpk ??Breathing Life into the Maputo Protocol: Jurisprudence on the rights of women and girls in Africa - Monday, 25 November ??Register https://lnkd.in/evEni23A ??Barriers to Justice: Rape in Africa, Law, Practice, and Access to Justice - Tuesday, 26 November ??Register https://lnkd.in/e6cTNmuB Explore all events on our website https://lnkd.in/edayzVwB? #WomensRightsEvents #GenderEquality #WomensRights

Find out #WhatsOn and where our team will be this week ? ??11-12 November 2024, Reykjavik Global Forum 2024 - Iceland ? Equality Now’s Global Executive Director, S. Mona Sinha, will be joining this forum of women leaders to discuss how the combination of legal and economic equality is essential if women are to be able to make strategic life choices of their own. ??12-13 November 2024, Training on Digital Safety - Online Event ? Our team in the Middle East will conduct training on digital safety in collaboration with ARIJ Network for young women from Egypt and Palestine. On November 12 and 13, this training will equip participants with essential skills to navigate and protect themselves in the digital landscape. ??11-13 November 2024, Civil Society Organization Convening - Lilongwe, Malawi ? Equality Now, in partnership with People Serving Girls at Risk (PSGR), will host a convening on enhancing gender equality approaches in the implementation of laws and policies to address sex trafficking in Malawi. The convening will bring together multiple stakeholders and the media for conversations, reflections and recommendations. Equality Now’s Global Lead for Ending Sexual Exploiting, Tsitsi Matekaire, Regional Representative for Southern Africa, Sally Ncube, and Regional Communications Officer for Africa, Michelle Tuva, will be attending. ??14 November 2024, Breaking Barriers: Addressing Child, Early and Forced Marriage in Eurasia - Online Event ? This online event, with Equality Now’s Regional Representative for Eurasia, Tamar Dekanosidze, and Eurasia Legal Advisor, Dariana Gryaznova, will discuss the findings of Equality Now’s new report, analyzing child, early, and forced marriage (CEFM) in seven Eurasian countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. It delves into the underlying causes, ramifications, legal and policy frameworks, and potential intervention strategies to address this prevalent issue. ?? Register here: https://lnkd.in/eQe8eJ_w?