New Times for Women – A dream comes true

Monday, March 1, on the opening day of the 2010 CSW session, women activists are handing out the brand new Newspaper The New Times for Women to government delegates and NGO representatives as they enter the UN premises and conference rooms. Two smiling and jubilant African women on the front page of this special edition mark the dawn of a new era. The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has announced the creation of the new UN women’s rights agency. After many years of persistent lobby and advocacy by women’s rights activists under the leadership of the Gender Equality Architecture Reform (GEAR) Campaign it is time for celebration at the CSW. Surprised responses. “Really!” “Has it come true?” “So the search for a UN Under Secretary-General to head the new women’s agency can start as of today?”
Attentive readers soon sober up. At the bottom of the page they read: “This is news we would like to read. Turn the page to see where we stand now.”
The special New Times for Women edition is launched by the European section of the GEAR campaign in order to call for accelerated action by governments and the UN Secretary General to realise the dream of the new UN women’s agency. This year’s CSW provides an excellent opportunity to announce its creation as it reviews fifteen years of implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and its impact towards the full realisation of the Millennium Development Goals.
The press statement released by the European section of Gear speaks of a spoof newspaper promoting the GEAR campaign vision for the new super agency. Daniela Rosche from Oxfam Novib has been one of the driving forces behind the New Times for Women. Read the full paper.

Ireen Dubel
Programme Manager Hivos

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