UN World Conference on Women

  • By Luz Maria Martinez

    It felt like we were all there on a mission — to be heard, to tell the world we are here this is how we think, dance, paint, talk, dress but our issues are interconnected.

    The 4th Women's World Conference, 1995 in Beijing, China officially turns 20 in September 2015. So not only has this year been a year of review but it is also a time for retrospection about what and who we were in 1995. For me, this hindsight is like a trailer for an up and coming film on a fast forward button.

    Where to begin? When in doubt, mid-way always works.

    At the time, I along with my colleague and friend Mavic Balleza was part of the Isis communication team. One of our tasks was to cover interesting women to feature in the Isis International third quarter issue of Women in Action (WiA).

    Beijing Mavic
    Mavic Balleza holding white jacket and Luz Martinez holding folders of the Isis communication team.

    As someone new to Asia and to the women's movement, the entire process and trip was an extravaganza of women.

  • By Anne Marie Goetz and Joanne Sandler

    Source: https://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/anne-marie-goetz-joanne-sandler/women%27s-rights-have-no-country#.VKqMi632HbI.gmail

    There is no blueprint for holding fast against the arguments used to dismiss women's humanity, or defending our hard won human rights. It's time to meet, to brainstorm and try new formats.

    At the 2012 Forum of the Association of Women’s Rights for Development (AWID) in Istanbul, there were heated discussions about whether to lobby for a Fifth World Conference on Women in 2015. The majority of older generation feminists taking part expressed reluctance. A young Turkish feminist took the floor and challenged us, essentially saying: “It’s fine for those of you who had the chance to go to Beijing and Nairobi to decline this opportunity. But what about my generation? We never had the chance to mobilize the way that you did. We need this!”