Feminists want system change in Eastern Europe, Caucasus & Russia -policy brief

The COVID-19 crisis has thrown a spanner in the works in regard to the global policy processes on achieving gender equality (with the Generation Equality Forums and Beijing+25 meetings being postponed). The need for mobilising and engaging feminist organizations in the agenda setting for a post-COVID-19 and socially just world is more important than ever.

It is essential for the global feminist movement that we ensure that our post-pandemic world will not have thrown us decades back in time, and that the recovery will lead to a gender-just transformation of our economies and societies.

That is why we, a group of feminists from seven countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Moldova, Russia and Ukraine) in collaboration with Women Engage for a Common Future (WECF) and the UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia, have conducted a virtual consultation on the implementation of Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in our region in preparation for the Generation Equality Forums to be held in 2021.

We met online with feminists and women’s rights activists on October 6, with 48 participants (49% youth), and on October 19, with 31 participants. Together we discussed the themes of the Generation Equality Action Coalitions and set out our demands for a feminist post- pandemic world.

We discussed:

  • Gender-based violence
  • Bodily autonomy and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR)
  • Feminist movements and leadership
  • Economic justice and rights
  • Feminist action for climate justice
  • Technology and innovation for gender equality
  • Women, peace and security

This policy brief was developed in line with the sub-regional consultations, organised by women’s rights and gender equality CSOs from Europe and Central Asia, with the support of UN Women’s Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia and Women Engage for a Common Future.

Donors

These consultations have been made possible with a financial support from the Swiss Agency for Development, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, Women 2030 and EuropeAid. The content of these consultations and this policy brief is the product of the civil society participants and should not be interpreted to represent the views of the financial donors, Women Engage for a Common Future (WECF), UN Women’s Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia or the moderators.

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