What we do
What we do
In 1995, 17,000 delegates and 30,000 activists from across the globe, streamed to Beijing to attend the fourth World Women’s Conference. This was one of the largest meetings to promote women’s rights ever held. Our first big project, as an organisation, was to organise a delegation of women to attend the civil society forum in Beijing ahead of the conference with the aim to bring in the intersectional dimension between gender and the environment. We organised events and demonstrations during the Huairou civil society forum with partners from, amongst others, Brazil, India, Kenya, Russia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. The outcome, the Beijing Platform for Action, remains one of the strongest commitments to women’s human rights within the scope of a a sustainable and peaceful world.
Resisting the roll-back
Now, almost 25 years later, we are appalled by a roll-back on women’s rights in many countries in the world, and attacks against women’s human rights and environmental defenders. In 2020, 25 years after the promise of Beijing, we will still not have achieved equality, and instead are facing increasing violence and misogynist populist governments. Whilst in 2020 we will achieve the 5-year mark of the Sustainable Development Goals and it’s goal 5 on achieving gender quality and the empowerment of all women and girls, we need to hold high the commitments of Beijing.
COVID-19 update
The Generation Equality Forums have been postponed till early 2021. Our director is part of the Civil Society Advisory Group to the forums, please read their statement on the postponement here. Read also UN Women’s response and our response to the pandemic from a women’s rights perspective.