It made me realise the undeniable connection between climate change, disaster risk and gender inequalities.
My CSW66 journey started on the 12th of February with a girls’ statement writing group organised by the Working Group on Girls (WGG). I was not sure as to how much I would be able to contribute. However, this event ended up being a great opportunity to meet girls from all over the world, listen to their unique perspectives and draft the statement to be presented before the UN CSW.
After the girls’ caucus, when I was told that I could participate in the NGO CSW forum further, I felt honoured. I knew I would be able to listen to and connect with many strong, empowered and intelligent women from all around the world. Before the CSW started, we were given the chance to attend two more girls’ caucus meetings which helped me gain exposure to become a better advocate.
The first NGO CSW event that I attended was an Orientation ceremony sponsored by NGO CSW. Here, I got some more technical knowledge regarding the CSW66 themes, the NGO CSW forum and CSW. The urge to attend every single event was strong, but due to time zones and overlaps, that was not possible. However, I did try to attend as many conversation circles and civil society briefings as possible.
Other than the parallel events, we also got a link for the calendar of all side events organised by several member states and UN associates. NGO CSW has determined the ways in which I thought about many things. It made me realise the undeniable connection between climate change, disaster risk and gender inequalities. I came across shocking information, such as the fact that natural disasters kill more women than men and that women are disproportionately affected by climate change.
Of course, information is not all that I gained. I also made connections with other JCOR advocates and got a direction to take my advocacy in. While these two weeks were really busy, they went by in a blur and left me as a more confident, knowledgeable and empowered girl environmentalist and activist.
Read my report on the webinar “Indigenous Women Protecting Nature” HERE.
Author: Daksha Shrestha Singh
