KSK70 Closing*
*This is a series of articles consisting of assessments by Gülfer Kırbaş, who attended the 70th meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) on behalf of ÇemberDE.
Who from Türkiye will be participating in CSW71?
CSW70 ended with a dramatic closing. Sima Bahaus's message was clear: We are continuing our advocacy here, drawing strength from the women's movement, and we are succeeding. However, this does not mean there is no danger!
In the commission, where decisions are usually made by consensus, this time no consensus was reached. The US had its own demands for changes from the beginning. They weren't really different from us; they wanted to remove the concepts of gender equality, the rights to sexual and reproductive health, and the words diversity, equality, and inclusion—in short, the gains of years of struggle—from the text. Moreover, they should have discussed this for two weeks and reached a common decision. They didn't. The US also resubmitted its request for changes before the final vote. But it didn't work; nobody outside the US voted in favor, but 14 countries abstained. That's not a small number.
The US didn't stop there, of course. They came up with a completely new proposal: something called "Protection of Women and Girls with Appropriate Terminology." They're still concerned with changing concepts built over years of struggle. But here, experienced commission members stepped in. They used a procedure designed for situations where even discussing the proposal is deemed dangerous or completely unnecessary. As a result of a vote, 23 countries supported the decision that a vote wasn't necessary. However, another obstacle was placed in the way; 3 countries voted against the proposal, and 17 abstained. This unexpected proposal was resolved smoothly thanks to the pro-equality states' mastery of the procedure. Fortunately, they still don't have a majority, but faces turn wherever the power leans. The intentions are clear, but the resistance of the women's movement is strong. There can be no turning back.
As the women's movement in Turkey, making better use of these advocacy mechanisms will both impact our struggle domestically and strengthen the global feminist movement. We are not ignoring or failing to participate in these processes; every action we take, every night march we participate in, strengthens this movement. No one is fighting alone; every country influences each other, both positively and negatively. Therefore, we need to increase the positive impact.
To strengthen the capacity of women activists in local civil society in Turkey and to contribute to this transnational solidarity, we need to create more resources and have a greater presence here from Turkey. On one hand, there are experienced women like Selma Acuner and Fatma Aytac , who have been following this process for years , asking many questions and trying to learn , and who have enabled many women to come here. Then there are those like me, participating for the second time on behalf of the Circle Civil Initiative Association , and Sinem Sefa Akay, participating for the first time on behalf of the Flying Broom Women's Communication and Research Association . We learned a lot, we gained a lot. We want to be here with even more women's rights advocates. Let's think together about who can come next year and how we can find resources.
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