56th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women

After lying dormant for a while I will be picking up this blog once again - this week I heard the fantastic news that this spring, I will be once again going with WAGGGS (World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts) to UNHQ in New York! This time I will be taking on a mentor and training role within the delegation, and I'm excited for a trip to London this Tuesdey to discuss the event.

The priority theme for CSW 56  will be:
"The empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, development and current challenges"

Doing a research project in a rural Keyan village back in March 2011, and then spending June through to September living in a small village in the Norfolk countryside has given me a flavour of the impact of geography (particularly rural v urban) on achieving gender equality.

One such issue is gender based violence and whilst a WI study in the UK, has shown that the amount of violence against women is comparable in rural and urban areas (though other studies have shown certain types of violence to be higher in urban areas) there is a distinct lack of relevant services in rural areas shown by the Map of Gaps project. The area I lived in over the summer has 0 such services.

In Kenya, violence against women is arguably even more of a concern. This 2003 report on progress towards UN goals in the Convention on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (CEDAW) demonstrates that pervasive cultural norms are a significant barrier to easy implementation of such aims. Female Genital Cutting has been outlawed in the country since 2003, but in rural areas the enforcement of such laws is difficult - and often not a priority.

And it is here where the environment and sustainability is a becoming an increasing concern...till the next post.