2020 marks the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995). Adopted by 189 governments, this is a progressive agenda for achieving women’s equality and empowerment.
It outlines critical areas blocking women’s active participation in all spheres of public and private life, and to providing a full and equal share in economic, social, cultural and political decision-making. Countries who signed up to the declaration committed countries to removing these barriers.
Beijing+25: a major milestone
However, 25 years on, significant barriers still remain to gender equality.
This is why Beijing+25 is an important milestone, uniting us to insist on finally achieving the rights of all women and girls.
UN Women is working with the Governments of Mexico and France to host Generation Equality Forums in Mexico City (April 2021) and in Paris (summer 2021) in order to mobilise the global community around gender equality.
Other key moments that marked Beijing+25 and helped drive the agenda forward were the 24th session of the Commission on the Status of the Women and the High-Level Meeting of the UN General Assembly (25 September 2020)
The goal of all of this action is that by mid-2021, we have an updated, progressive feminist agenda on women and girls’ rights; a set of cross-cutting partnerships and platforms across the private sector, governments, and civil society to mobilise action; and strong, aligned political alliances that support gender equality.
Why Beijing+25 matters to the child marriage movement
With so many development issues competing for attention at the global and national level, Beijing+25 is important because it brings gender equality to the world’s attention.
We know that child marriage is driven by and drives gender inequality. This means that we have a crucial opportunity to ensure that child marriage is on the Beijing+25 agenda, and by doing so, to bring it to the attention of global leaders and decision-makers.
The global COVID-19 pandemic had an unprecedented effect on this Generation Equality process. Milestones and events were delayed, and expected to run throughout 2021.
How can your organisation get involved?
The Girls Not Brides Global Partnership has a vital role to play within the Beijing+25 platforms. We can amplify the voices of married girls and girls at risk of child marriage are heard, and ensure that their needs are met.
There will be many different opportunities throughout the year where we can make a difference by raising our voices together.