You are here
Mothers' Union at the UNCSW 68
This March, a joint delegation of Mothers’ Union and the Anglican Communion attended the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.
20 Mar 2024
Together with the Anglican Communion, we advocated for:
- Funding of Women’s Literacy programmes, to enable women to lift themselves and their families out of poverty increase their self-esteem; improve the wellbeing of their communities and reduce Gender Based violence.
- Engagement with faith-based organisations to implement grassroots, transformational programmes which are sustainable, because they are anchored in their communities and act as volunteers, often in the hardest to reach, most marginalized communities
- Reform global financial injustice.
During the week, Mathilde Nkwirikiye, former Provincial President of Mothers' Union in Burundi, talked at side events organised by the UKCSWA (Christians for the elimination of violence against women and girls) and NAWO on the key role of literacy. Twenty years of evidece from the programmes demonstrate how beneficial they are, helping women build their self-esteem and support their own families and communities. In turn, this also leads to a reduction in domestic violence.
We also organised an event with the Anglican Communion, chaired by Bishop Rachel Treweek of Gloucester, at which Mathilde spoke, looking at the practical ways in which the Church and related organisations address the issues of poverty. Rev Sarah Pidgeon, provincial president for New Zealand and Aorteoroa, spoke at a NAWO event on Social Protection, where she called for protection of the most vulnerable women and girls, especially those in care, and for support for survivors.
We also held meetings with government delegations - a key way to show how our work is making an impact around the world and to call for their support.
Mathilde Nkwirikiye and our CEO, Bev Jullien and with Genny Kresic from MU Canada, met with the Ambassador to the UN and Minister for Human Rights for Burundi. The wider delegation also met with Maria Wyard, UK Head of Women and Girls international engagement.
We started each day in worship with Ecumenical Women, and led worship on Thursday, with the theme of Thursdays in black, calling for an end to gender-based violence. Everyday, this was an incredible time of uniting together, standing in solidarity against gender-based violence.
Thank you for your prayers as we attended UNCSW. We're delighted that it was such a resounding success, and gave us a real opportunity to showcase how Mothers' Union is transforming lives around the world.