UN talks promised justice,but silenced women voices

When I attended the 57th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW57) in March 2013, the theme was the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls. The halls were overflowing with activists, survivors, grassroots organisers and feminist leaders who had travelled often at great personal cost to ensure their realities shaped global policy. Their presence was not symbolic.

It was essential. Civil society was the engine of the CSW, the conscience of the process, the force that kept governments honest. Most countries did not send civil society representatives this year, including Malawi.

This was not the desired state by the Gender machinery, but by the hurdles that have been created by the US Government through its visa restrictions for anyone who does not work in government as there is a special waiver for government officials, the UN and others. The absence was not subtle. It was glaring.

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And it was devastating. While attendance was high for some countries, words, reports indicate that CSOs from the Global South faced structural barriers, including visa issues and security risks. Justice was the theme, yet injustice was the practice.

The exclusion of civil society delegations is not a bureaucratic oversight. It is a political choice that signals a retreat from accountability at a moment when women’s rights are under unprecedented assault worldwide. Governments that once championed “inclusive processes” arrived with delegations stripped of the very people who give the CSW its legitimacy.

The people who do the work on the ground. The people who understand the stakes. The people who refuse to let rhetoric replace reality.

Without them, CSW70 felt like a performance of governments speaking to one another in a closed loop, insulated from the voices that would challenge them to do more than issue polished statements. The irony is painful. Justice cannot be negotiated behind closed doors.

Justice cannot be real if the people most affected are not even allowed in the room. Civil society has always been the backbone of the CSW. They are the ones who bring lived experience, data, urgency, and moral clarity.

They are the ones who push for language that protects women’s rights rather than diluting them. They remind the world that gender equality is not a diplomatic slogan but a daily fight. To sideline them is to hollow out the CSW from within.

This year’s exclusion is more than disappointing; it is dangerous. It sets a precedent that governments can shape global gender policy without the scrutiny, expertise or pressure of those who represent women’s realities.

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