Soroptimist International (SI) and Zonta International (ZI) co-hosted a parallel event at CSW67 on Wednesday 15 March to address the root causes and debilitating impacts of violence against women (VAW)[1] in leadership positions. The panellists included Zarifa Ghafari, former mayor in Afghanistan and women’s rights activist; Sandra Pepera, Senior Associate and Director for Gender, Women and Democracy at the National Democratic Institute (USA); and Bonita Zarrillo, Member of Parliament (MP) for Port Moody and House of Commons in Canada. 

SI President Maureen Maguire opened the event by highlighting that every 1 in 3 women and girls worldwide are victim to gender-based violence in their lifetime. Such violence prevents them from contributing to their communities, which in turn obstructs them from securing leadership roles. Because of this, women remain significantly underrepresented at all levels of politics globally. 

Moderator Rebecca Myles echoed Maureen’s remarks by emphasising that the rate of women’s participation in parliament globally sits at just 23%. 81.8% of those women said they have faced violence, including a harrowing number of death threats, threats of rape, or abduction. Despite these concerning figures, there are now more women in leadership positions worldwide than at any other time in history. 

In a country where women have forcibly been removed from social, public and political life, Zarifa emphasised the current “disaster” situation for women and girls in Afghanistan. Women are denied access to school and university, prohibited from travelling anywhere without a male chaperone, thousands of women are missing, many more have been imprisoned by the Taliban, and others are being tortured and stoned in public. On top of that, Afghanistan is facing a severe hunger crisis which is forcing widows to sell their children and body parts for money. Child labour is on the rise, and children are being married off every single day. The reality is distressing and bleak. 

Zarifa was forced to flee her country because of the significant security threats posed against her as the country’s first-ever woman mayor and rights defender. Zarifa remains actively involved inside Afghan communities even from a distance, delivering health and food packages, as well as educational and vocational training. While she maintains contact with Afghan women that are still living in Afghanistan, it has become harder for her to reach rural women because she has to communicate via male community leaders who are oftentimes reluctant to cooperate. Zarifa highlighted that the struggle towards a peaceful Afghanistan is being led by women. While it is a steep uphill battle, it is the women who are the country’s beacon of hope and providing those still inside Afghanistan a “reason to still be there”. 

Despite our desire to untangle the Afghan crisis from the country’s political turmoil, Sandra emphasised that “the personal is political”: Afghan women have been entirely disempowered by a specific political group, and this compounds the regression of women’s rights. She pointed out that the forced removal of women and girls from Afghan society is a form of structural violence and it must be recognised as such. Bonita added that this structural violence is a globally coordinated effort against women’s rights. It is happening transnationally, with alliances being formed which aim to roll back the progression made by women across the world. 

Another key point highlighted by the panellists was the sheer underrepresentation of women in politics worldwide. Sandra recounted her experience in Sri Lanka in 2019, where she witnessed more men over 70 years of age in parliament than the total number of women. Bonita had a similar experience when she was first elected for municipal office in Canada in 2013. Despite some improvements since then, she emphasised that no matter the diversity in age and gender, the power remains consolidated within 6 to 12 voices. Furthermore, the most underrepresented demographic in politics globally is the ‘under 30s’. Structural violence via the deliberate exclusion of women in leadership roles is not therefore just a gender divide but a generational one. The very specific violence that women face is a global phenomenon, and we must be cognisant of this. The type of violence faced by women in different countries does vary, but either way, being forced to conform is another form of structural violence. 

Sandra also emphasised that there has been a shift in focus regarding VAW in politics, towards online and digital spaces, including in the “Not the Cost” campaign, which launched in 2016. As this CSW has demonstrated to us, online spaces – despite the potential they carry – have so often become toxic environments for women, and this is intrinsically linked to politics and power. Fundamentally, if we do not break the intersectional link, we are not living up to the solidarity that we express through our networks and the organisations that we represent. We must therefore work with colleagues to ensure that girls in school are interested in politics and that they know their voice does matter. 

While there are more educated women and girls in the world than ever before, we must centre our attention to how social norms are now being influenced by digital technologies. Sandra shared the example of digital home assistance functions Siri and Alexa, and their “docile voices” when a woman is selected to speak. Asking the question, does this implicitly indicate to our daughters that they should always be submissive? Subliminal messaging constitutes part of our education and the next generation’s education. What we hear in our day-to-day activities shapes socially constructed gender roles and relations. 

This panel provided us with compelling analysis and a thought-provoking discussion throughout. It was, for me personally, one of the most profound sessions I have attended this CSW. Each with unique lived experiences, Zarifa, Sandra and Bonita called upon the feminist movement and its allies to never let the uncomfortable force us into a place of submission. Ute Scholz, President of ZI, provided closing remarks and reiterated the panellists’ key messages: the personal is political, and the political is power. 

To those with privilege and access: you are called upon to leverage your power, to walk against the antiquated status quo into which we are now regressing. Raise your voice for the women and girls that do not have such a privilege. Together, we must continue to stand up to all forms of violence and discrimination against women, to guarantee our daughters the possibility of becoming the leaders we so desperately need in this world, but also to guarantee their safety as well-recognised individuals in such positions. 

[1] Violence against women (VAW) can take many forms, from intimidation, to harassment, emotional or physical violence, and even violence in the digital context. Each of these forms of violence contributes negatively to women and girls’ physical and psychological health.