A blog by Ayushi Kundu, Soroptimist International of Calcutta

“The highlight of CSW63 for me so far has been attending the Town Hall Meeting of Civil Societies and to hear United Nations Secretary General António Guterres speak for the first time. This was a main event on day two of CSW63.

The theme of the Secretary General’s speech was ‘WE NEED TO PUSH BACK AGAINST THE PUSH BACKS’. He discussed how women continue to face barriers and are not given power in a still largely male dominated society. To overcome this, he mentioned three internal and two external priorities, which he has attempted to implement within the United Nations Organisation. They include:

Internally:

* To achieve gender parity within the UN;

* Preventing sexual harassment and;

* Zero tolerance for sexual exploitation perpetrated by UN Staff, particularly in Peace Keeping Operations in remote areas.

Externally:

* To introduce institutional changes in countries which continue to have regressive and discriminatory legislations against women;

* To prevent the persecution of Human Rights Defenders – several women Human Rights Defenders have faced hate speeches and vicious campaigns on the internet.

It is critical to the status of women that strong measures be taken to confront the challenges and attacks on their human rights. This can be done through cooperation and collaboration between Civil Society and the United Nations”.