Islamic Relief is attending the Commission for the Status of Women (CSW), which meets for the 63rd time at the United Nations HQ in New York from 11 to 22 March 2019. Here’s our quick guide to the influential platform and why we’re involved.
What is the CSW?
The CSW is a global intergovernmental body that is exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender quality and empowerment of women.
What happens there?
Every CSW is different. Social protection, public services and infrastructure is the focus this year.
How does it make a difference?
The CSW is instrumental in promoting women’s rights, documenting the reality of women’s lives throughout the world, and shaping global standards on gender equality and the empowerment of women.
Why is it relevant to Islamic Relief?
The active participation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) like Islamic Relief Worldwide plays a critical element in the work of the CSW. NGOs have been influential in shaping the current global policy framework on women’s empowerment and gender equality and speaking from a faith based perspective on these matters.
The CSW is important from an advocacy perspective. Islamic Relief stands alongside other international agencies, civil society, and the UN to promote gender equality as one of the key aspects of the sustainable development agenda and to focus on the Sustainable Development Goal on Gender Equality, SDG5.
What is Islamic Relief doing there?
This year, our events at CSW will focus on the role of faith, faith based actors, communities and mobilization in empowering disabled women and girls and supporting them in exercising their rights. They also highlight the contributions of these organisations in holding governments to account on their responsibilities to provide and strengthen social protection for women and young girls.
Discover our full programme of events in our CSW63 events brochure, which gives registration details where appropriate. Use #CSW63 to follow events and join in the conversation on social media.