COMAGEND Commemorates Sixty Sixth Session On Women Status

 By Mbonda Lizzy Noel With Reports

 

The Common Action for Gender Development COMAGEND, leading feminist organization in Cameroon has joined other feminist movements globally to commemorate the sixty sixth session of the Commission on the Status of Women CSW66.

The event took place under the theme “Achieving gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes”.

This feminist gathering that holds every year in the month of March started on the 14^th of March 2022, and runs to the 25 of March.

The objective of this year’s event was to recognize women and girls’ leadership in protecting health by promoting changes in climate change and environmental policies and processes, including legislation.

This particular angle of the conversation promoted by the World Health Organization resonates with the needs and aspirations of many adolescent girls and young women who continue to advocate for their rights and bodily autonomy.

The CSW that usually holds in New York following the COVID19 outbreak is now also experienced as a virtual gathering with a possibility of many participating all over the global.

The participants to this huge feminist advocacy gathering are usually government ministers in charge of gender and women’s affairs, Gender intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women, civil society organizations as well as technical and financial partners.

According to COMAGEND’s team lead, Sally Mboumiem, her organization is particularly excited about this space because it is where policies are enacted or commitments made towards ameliorating the condition of women and girls.

In line therefore with their commitment to granting access to adolescent girls and young women into decision making spaces, advocates and their peer under COMAGEND’s Peace and Equality Ambassador Project as well as Her Voice Matters project were brought together to a watch party on Sunday 20^th March 2022 at their head office.

This event witnessed the coming together of more than 20 AGYW from grassroots communities to follow side events hosted by GenEgalite ECCAS.

It was a novel move in bridging the distance between young women, especially those living in rural communities, and policy makers.

These young and ambitious ladies present at the watch party saw the need to add their voices to this great course.

According to Lum Evi Claire, the Program Manager, organizing a watch party for AGYW who face a lot of limitations in accessing high profile events and getting their opinions reflected in policies and resolutions was very fulfilling.

“The AGYW shared their perspectives and daily realities excitedly as they hoped that it will be taken in to consideration during the final deliberations of the CSW66 in NEWYORK” She said.

She added that with this hope and excitement expressed by the girls, they decided not to end there but go further to develop a paper that captures the realities of climate change on women and girls especially those living in rural communities.

The great insights from these AGYW will be the proposed solutions that we will advocate for inclusion in policies as young women’s contribution towards climate justice.

As the group looks forward towards engaging more watch parties to high profile events to contribute towards the increased participation of AGYW in decision making and intentionally engage them in these spaces, they believe that it takes all to realize a just and feminist world.

Participants Speak

Shey Stella Nkuh, AGYW Participant

I had no idea a platform like this existed. Thanks to COMAGEND I am now aware of the CSW annual convening and I have started thinking of ways to be part of such a platform.

My recommendation to my peers is that to help tackle climate change we should involve ourselves in Climate change actions (nothing for us without us).

We need to engage meaning fully within the decision making spaces to add our voices to policies and planned interventions.

Our peers in rural communities despite their level of education should not be left out for they have valuable experiences that can enrich the conversation.

The government should trust the fact that local women can better manage climate change since most of them rely on the environment for their livelihoods.

 

Kemayou Ngassa Brenda, AGYW Participant

The watch party I just attended has made me more alert about things happening around as I have seen case studies of women and girls affected by climate change.

I envision a world where women and girls don’t need to trek for long distances just to get clean water for their daily use. The thought of what women and girls go through during menstruation as a result of climate change is such a terrible site to behold.

My recommendation to the government of Cameroon as a young woman is that the government should Harness the provision of pure water for washing, Subsidize the production and distribution of bio degradable menstrual hygiene kits. The hygiene needed in menstruation is best guaranteed by the availability of water.