A Side Event at the 2025 UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF)
The world has yet to witness a truly gender equal society. This year at the HLPF, SDG5 will come under review to measure how the world-wide community is addressing persistent challenges to achieving gender equality, many of which are driven by prejudicial attitudes. Striving for normative change is therefore necessary. For until transformation takes root within mindsets and finds expression in culture, the underlying causes of prejudice and discrimination, embedded in the systems and structures of societies, will continue to perpetuate injustice.
In that light, this event will explore the intersections of the forthcoming Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)’s General Recommendation No. 41 (establishment and proper administration of appropriate laws, policies, and action plans addressing wrongful gender stereotyping), SDG5 (gender equality) under review this year and SDG16 (peaceful, just and inclusive societies – reviewed in 2024) which will be at the heart of the upcoming CSW70 on gender equality and access to justice. It will seek to make a substantive contribution to the 2025 review of SDG 5 on gender equality at the HLPF by highlighting how deeply entrenched stereotypes obstruct the achievement of Target 5.1 (end all forms of discrimination against women and girls) and Target 5.c (adopt and strengthen policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls at all levels) which connect to Target 16.3 (ensure equal access to justice for all). By linking the guidance from GR 41 to national and global efforts under SDG 5, the event will provide a space to discuss efforts being made to understand the root causes of gender based discrimination and explore community driven methodologies to root out these prejudices and deliver justice to women and girls.
Location: Hybrid and at 866 United Nations Plaza | Register Here
Opening Speaker
● Rhoda Reddock, Vice-Chair, CEDAW Committee
Panelists
● Omna Sreeni-Ong, Founder & Principal Consultant, ENGENDER Consultancy and Co-Chair of the Malaysian CSO SDG Alliance
● Leonie Mutoni, Legal Aid Forum Rwanda, TAP Network Steering Committee Member (TBC)
● Genevieve Riccoboni, Women, Peace and Security Programme Coordinator at the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)
Discussion Questions
● What role have community-driven methodologies and national policies, respectively, played in successfully advancing the targets of SDG 5?
● What lessons have been learned from on-the-ground instances in which gender stereotypes based in prejudice have been replaced by attitudes more reflective of gender equality?
● In what ways have efforts toward gender equality and peaceful societies (SDGs 5 and 16) reinforced one another? How could this collaboration be strengthened?
Matt Mahmoudi (he/him) is a lecturer, researcher, and organizer. He’s been leading the “Ban the Scan” campaign, Amnesty International’s research and advocacy efforts on banning facial recognition technologies and exposing their uses against racialized communities, from New York City to the occupied Palestinian territories.
Berit Aasen is a sociologist by training and has worked at the OsloMet Metropolitan University on Oslo. She has 40 years of experience in research and consultancy in development studies, including women, peace, and security, and in later years in asylum and refugee studies. Berit Aasen joined WILPF Norway five years ago. She is an alternate member of the National Board of WILPF Norway, and representing WILPF Norway in the UN Association of Norway, the Norwegian 1325 network and the Norwegian Women’s Lobby. Berit Aasen has been active in the WILPF European Liaison group and is committed to strengthening WILPF sections and membership both in Europe and relations across continents.
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Prior to being elected Vice-President, Melissa Torres was the WILPF US International Board Member from 2015 to 2018. Melissa joined WILPF in 2011 when she was selected as a Delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women as part of the WILPF US’ Practicum in Advocacy Programme at the United Nations, which she later led. She holds a PhD in Social Work and is a professor and Global Health Scholar at Baylor College of Medicine and research lead at BCM Anti-Human Trafficking Program. Of Mexican descent and a native of the US/Mexico border, Melissa is mostly concerned with the protection of displaced Latinxs in the Americas. Her work includes training, research, and service provision with the American Red Cross, the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Centre, and refugee resettlement programs in the U.S. Some of her goals as Vice-President are to highlight intersectionality and increase diversity by fostering inclusive spaces for mentorship and leadership. She also contributes to WILPF’s emerging work on the topic of displacement and migration.
Jamila Afghani is the President of WILPF Afghanistan which she started in 2015. She is also an active member and founder of several organisations including the Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organisation (NECDO). Elected in 2018 as South Asia Regional Representative to WILPF’s International Board, WILPF benefits from Jamila’s work experience in education, migration, gender, including gender-based violence and democratic governance in post-conflict and transitional countries.
Sylvie Jacqueline NDONGMO is a human rights and peace leader with over 27 years experience including ten within WILPF. She has a multi-disciplinary background with a track record of multiple socio-economic development projects implemented to improve policies, practices and peace-oriented actions. Sylvie is the founder of WILPF Cameroon and was the Section’s president until 2022. She co-coordinated the African Working Group before her election as Africa Representative to WILPF’s International Board in 2018. A teacher by profession and an African Union Trainer in peace support operations, Sylvie has extensive experience advocating for the political and social rights of women in Africa and worldwide.
In response to the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban and its targeted attacks on civil society members, WILPF Afghanistan issued several statements calling on the international community to stand in solidarity with Afghan people and ensure that their rights be upheld, including access to aid. The Section also published 100 Untold Stories of War and Peace, a compilation of true stories that highlight the effects of war and militarisation on the region.
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WILPF uses feminist analysis to argue that militarisation is a counter-productive and ill-conceived response to establishing security in the world. The more society becomes militarised, the more violence and injustice are likely to grow locally and worldwide.
Sixteen states are believed to have supplied weapons to Afghanistan from 2001 to 2020 with the US supplying 74 % of weapons, followed by Russia. Much of this equipment was left behind by the US military and is being used to inflate Taliban’s arsenal. WILPF is calling for better oversight on arms movement, for compensating affected Afghan people and for an end to all militarised systems.
Mobilising men and boys around feminist peace has been one way of deconstructing and redefining masculinities. WILPF shares a feminist analysis on the links between militarism, masculinities, peace and security. We explore opportunities for strengthening activists’ action to build equal partnerships among women and men for gender equality.
WILPF has been working on challenging the prevailing notion of masculinity based on men’s physical and social superiority to, and dominance of, women in Afghanistan. It recognizes that these notions are not representative of all Afghan men, contrary to the publicly prevailing notion.
In WILPF’s view, any process towards establishing peace that has not been partly designed by women remains deficient. Beyond bringing perspectives that encapsulate the views of half of the society and unlike the men only designed processes, women’s true and meaningful participation allows the situation to improve.
In Afghanistan, WILPF has been demanding that women occupy the front seats at the negotiating tables. The experience of the past 20 has shown that women’s presence produces more sustainable solutions when they are empowered and enabled to play a role.
