The Historical Legacy of Advocacy in the Fight for Women Globally for Gender Justice and Equality
by Kennedy Elise Perry, 2025 Spring Associate
The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, adopted at the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women, remains a cornerstone document for advancing gender equality globally. It affirms women’s rights to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, and belief, recognizing these freedoms as fundamental to achieving gender equality. The political declaration highlights the current status of the declaration and its goals for 2025 and beyond. Despite this, women across the world, particularly in authoritarian regimes, continue to face persecution for practicing their faith for the common good of all.
There is strict control over religious expression in China, restricting practices that are not in line with the ruling Communist Party's ideology. Hence, if your loyalty is not based on the beliefs of power, you truly have no power or influence in the system. Women, regardless of whether they are Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, or Falun Gong practitioners, are often targeted with discrimination, surveillance, and imprisonment. This situation raises urgent concerns about how governments balance national security and human rights, often at the expense of women’s religious freedom and equality in society.
Human rights groups and international watchdogs highlight the plight of Uyghur Muslim women, who are forcibly detained in re-education camps, and Christian women who are arrested for participating in unauthorized religious gatherings or fellowship. The U.S. State Department and USCIRF (U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom) have condemned these abuses, urging diplomatic action.
As the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69) deliberates on strategies to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, it is imperative to recognize and support the role of Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs), community activists, and global changemakers. Policymakers, civil society, and international organizations must collaborate to protect religious freedom by ensuring that FBOs can operate without persecution, enabling them to contribute effectively to global social justice initiatives, including climate action and gender justice, with an emphasis on religious freedom and promoting gender-responsive climate policies, incorporating gender perspectives into all levels of climate policy and action, and recognizing women's unique vulnerabilities and strengths in the common good for all people and civil society.
Climate change disproportionately affects women of all ages and generations, facing increased risks to their livelihoods, health, and safety. Recognizing this, CSW69 emphasizes the need for gender-responsive climate action that empowers women as key change agents. A recent article by The Lutheran World Federation underscores the untapped potential of FBOs in driving such action. The report presents recommendations for integrating gender perspectives into climate solutions, grounded in faith-based perspectives. It also highlights how FBOs can advocate for policies that address the unique challenges women face in the face of climate change.
These challenges amplify the importance of protecting the rights of FBOs to operate freely, as their contributions to social justice at the domestic and global scale, including climate action, are invaluable. However, recent policy shifts, such as significant reductions in aid to religious minorities, such as the Yazidis in Iraq, have severely impacted communities recovering from genocide. Fundamental initiatives providing essential services have been halted, leading to feelings of abandonment and hopelessness among these populations.
Women's involvement in government entities is more crucial than ever. In Latin America, Indigenous women have led climate justice efforts, advocating for sustainable policies protecting their communities and the environment. As noted by UN Women, their activism is essential to creating inclusive, effective climate policies. Women of faith in Africa are already leading efforts to mitigate climate change’s impact. In Nigeria, women’s leadership in faith-based organizations has been instrumental in addressing food insecurity and displacement due to extreme weather conditions, as highlighted by the World Council of Churches. When women are excluded from decision-making processes regarding climate justice and environmental policies, it becomes a human rights issue, precisely, a religious freedom issue.
The Commission's multi-year programme from 2026 to 2029 focuses on various priority themes, including transforming care systems, assessing gender equality in the SDGs, addressing climate change, advancing women's leadership in emergencies, and strengthening access to justice. Faith-based organizations and women in leadership can contribute by advocating for these themes within their communities, mobilizing resources, and fostering inclusive, gender-sensitive policies that align with these goals.
During CSW69, the ecumenical women of the UN actively participated in the Thursdays in Black campaign, standing in solidarity with the global movement to end sexual violence. Additionally, other ecumenical women, alongside other women, attended worship service every day as a reminder of how prayer in the Holy Spirit can’t be an intercessor for justice. Sexual violence remains a global crisis. An estimated 1 in 3 women worldwide experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. In conflict zones, these numbers are even higher, with sexual violence often used as a weapon of war. This campaign is not just about awareness; it is about action. This is an opportunity to advocate to our U.S. government officials, emphasizing that when we empower and support our sisters and brothers globally, we build stronger communities and lay the foundation for the next generation to thrive.
Reports have documented widespread digital gender-based violence and human rights violations, with women and children bearing the brunt of displacement, loss, and suffering. Yet, in the face of unimaginable hardship, women take the lead, organize peaceful protests, mobilize aid, and fight for justice. Their resilience is a testament to the power of faith, and as people of faith, we must recognize that intercession is not passive. It moves mountains, shifts systems, and ignites change.
At CSW 69, the intersection of faith-based advocacy with gender and climate justice highlights a critical global challenge: the systemic barriers that prevent women, particularly those in marginalized religious communities, from stepping into leadership and advocating for their rights. Many parallel events underscore how religious and cultural presumptions restrict women’s ability to engage in policy advocacy, reinforcing cycles of inequality in areas such as food insecurity, climate justice, and international religious freedom.
Faith-based organizations and community groups must unite like never before to drive meaningful change, recognizing that these struggles are deeply interconnected. Moreover, the role of men and allies is essential, not as voices speaking over women, but as advocates dismantling oppressive structures and amplifying women’s leadership in their own countries and beyond. From a woman who believes in interfaith collaboration and unity, the Holy Spirit calls us to stand in the gap, advocate, and embody justice and joy. As we gather in prayer and action, let us remember that faith is not only about hope. It is about transformation. By fostering a collective, interfaith movement that challenges these limitations, CSW69 and Eccumenical Women leaders serve as a potent reminder that justice is not a siloed fight but demands solidarity across all lines of identity and belief.
