As I approach the end of my first year as Global Executive Director of Equality Now, I find myself reflecting on what has been a most extraordinary journey over the past 12 months. In doing so, three themes consistently emerge: celebration, collaboration, and conversation. Together, these encapsulate not only what we do as an organization, but also how we do it.

Celebration

At the start of 2023, we celebrated the long-awaited delivery of justice for Bolivian rape survivor Brisa De Angulo, in whose case Equality Now has been involved for more than a decade. The success of Brisa’s landmark case has the potential to prevent miscarriages of justice for thousands of other rape victims and survivors in the Americas and beyond.

A few months later, we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Maputo Protocol, one of the world’s most comprehensive and progressive women’s human rights instruments, by publishing a memoir on behalf of the SOAWR Coalition, containing a collection of testimonials from African state representatives and young women leaders.

2023 also marked 100 years of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) – which, despite meeting all constitutional requirements, has yet to be incorporated into the US Constitution. Throughout this year’s centennial celebrations, we joined with some of the nation’s leading legal campaigners to call for the rightful enshrinement of the ERA as the 28th Amendment.

Collaboration

In 2023 we stepped up our commitment to collaboration with the launch of some key coalitions, including by coming together with other women’s rights organizations from across the Middle East and North Africa region, for the public launch of the Hurra Coalition in Doha. 

The Hurra Coalition is part of the Global Campaign for Equality in Family Law, of which we are a founding Coordination Committee member, which calls on governments everywhere to ensure equality in all laws relating to the family, regardless of religion, culture, and tradition.

This year also saw the Alliance for Universal Digital Rights (AUDRi), which Equality Now co-founded in 2022, calling for the adoption of its feminist-informed Universal Digital Rights principles at the annual global meeting on gender equality hosted by the UN in New York.

Conversation

We continued to shape and inform the global conversation on gender equality throughout 2023, including through our new six-part podcast series, We Change the Rules, which features a diverse range of activists, academics, and legal experts worldwide.

We also participated in many important conversations at workshops, conferences and roundtable events – a particular highlight being the Women Deliver conference in Kigali, Rwanda, where we came together with women of all ages, identities, nationalities, and backgrounds to discuss new solutions to some of the modern world’s biggest challenges.

Finally, no list of highlights from 2023 would be complete without mentioning the incredible experience that was hosting my inaugural Equality Now Gala as Global Executive Director. It was so much more than a fundraising event and a celebration of our work – for me, it was also an opportunity to invite some new voices into the conversation about gender equality.

Looking forward

I believe we are heading into 2024 in our strongest and most exciting position yet. Such optimism may seem misplaced, given the seeming relentlessness of ongoing conflicts and humanitarian crises. But even in times of rising fear and desperate struggle, I know that there is one thing that can overcome any challenge: the strength that comes from unity.

And if unity is power, then community is, too – and so, I will lead our global Equality Now community into whatever next year brings with an enduring sense of solidarity and hope.

I look forward to continuing our journey together in 2024.