Cornélia Glèlè is a member of the Young West African Feminist Network, the West African Young Women Leaders Network, and the founder of EcranBenin.READ MORE
Seizing the opportunity presented by France’s G7 presidency, Equipop stepped up its efforts to persuade government officials to put gender equality at the heart of public policies. The organization helped bring together several feminist movements through “Women 7” (W7), a network of feminist activists from France, other G7 countries, and West Africa. The W7 Summit was the highlight of this mobilization: 400 participants from around the world joined forces in Paris on May 9, 2019.READ MORE
In school and non-school settings, CSE is a way of teaching about sexuality and interpersonal relationships that is age-appropriate, cultur–ally relevant, and gender-sensitive. Based on scientifically accurate information, it refrains from value judgments. The promotion of CSE is at the heart of several Equipop actions. In West and Central Africa, it works with its partners to create the conditions for its acceptability and implementation.READ MORE
In 2018, Equipop expanded its operations to promote women’s and young people’s civic and political participation through a project called “Bruits de Tambours” (Drumbeats).READ MORE
This G7 was the opportunity for the French President Emmanuel Macron to translate his commitment to make gender equality a great global cause into action. Multiple financial commitments were taken, but the Women 7 (W7) feminist associations believe that French Presidency has not met all expectations. France failed to embody a feminist diplomacy within this G7 and several key gender equality issues did not make it into the G7 leaders’ agenda. READ MORE
A missed opportunity to take ambitious financial actions on women’s and girls’ rights
The G7 countries finance ministers as well as several multilateral financial institutions governors met on 17 and 18 July in Chantilly. It was the last ministerial meeting before the Biarritz Summit, and a key opportunity to announce ambitious funding for women’s and girls’ rights. Today, it does not add up and one question remains: where is the funding for feminist public policies? Without significant increases in budgets for women’s and girls’ rights at national and international levels, the feminist position defended by ministers Jean-Yves Le Drian and Marlène Schiappa will remain a hollow promise.READ MORE
On 4 and 5 July, the Ministers of Education and Development of the G7 countries met in Paris. Women’s and girls’ rights were mainstreamed in the communiqués, but the Women 7 expected more concrete commitments, including to feminist official development assistance (ODA). France, which is among the G7 countries with the worst track records in terms of integrating gender equality into its development policy, has yet to prove its worth, particularly in terms of funding.
Feminist activists gathered in Vancouver, Canada, to participate in Women Deliver 2019. Among the events marking the conference, a panel discussion on June 4 focused on the role that the G7 could play to accelerate efforts toward gender equality.