Policy brief: A feminist foreign policy Response to COVID-19
Source: Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
The COVID-19 pandemic knows no borders. It further knows no gender, class, or race. This virus does not discriminate, but our societies do. Around the world we have built systems and structures that privilege the few and disadvantage the many. When a crisis as unprecedented as the current pandemic hits, inequalities are exacerbated. This holds particularly true for gender equality which, despite encouraging steps forward, no country is on track to achieve by 2030. This not only fails politically marginalised groups, in particular women, girls and gender-nonconforming people but also greatly hinders the international community’s commitment to foster peace and security. Amidst a concerning global rollback on the limited gains of gender equality, governments and foreign ministries must apply a feminist perspective to their COVID-19 response to prevent a set-back, to safeguard existing progress, and advance more quickly towards their goals.
Find the Policy Brief here.
Kenyatta Leads Cabinet in Effort to Contain GBV
Source: allAfrica
The government has moved to contain the spike of gender-based violence (GBV) in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Cabinet, chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta at State House Nairobi last Thursday, approved the establishment of an inter-agency programme to prevent and respond to GBV in the context of Covid-19. The Cabinet noted that during the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a marked uptick in undesirable social challenges, among them domestic violence, GBV and violations of the rights of children. They thus, underscored that Kenya’s heritage and social values situate the family as the most valued asset in society and children as the guarantor of the country’s future. The Cabinet also approved the establishment of toll-free hotlines and various online and mobile applications to enable anonymous reporting of GBV incidents and abuse of children’s rights.
Read more here.
Women with No Women’s Rights in Turkey
Source: LSE WPS Blog
As Turkey plans to withdraw from the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (the ‘Istanbul Convention’), Gursimran Bakshi details the current climate in which women are fighting for their rights, faced by a state unwillingness to protest against and prevent gender-based violence.
Read the article here.
