Dear JOhn,

With just 79 days left of 2020 our team of human rights lawyers and advocates are doubling down to #MakeEqualityReality for women and girls. Thank you for making this work possible.

News from our teams around the world

Advocating for solutions in the law at the United Assembly General Assembly

The United Nations 75th General Assembly (UNGA) was a busy one for Equality Now, despite most events being held virtually! UNGA is a crucial space for Equality Now to use our legacy of success as a platform to advocate for solutions in the law that will improve the lives of women and girls in the long term. In addition to hosting a Twitter chat about Family Law, taking part in two events (on equality in Nationality Laws, and the global state of gender equality), attending an event about female genital mutilation and a High-Level Meeting about the Beijing Platform for Action, we published one op-ed about sex discriminatory laws and another op-ed about gender parity and sexual harassment at the UN. We were also pleased that the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women spoke about her upcoming report on rape laws (which Equality Now has been directly involved in), and we saw our pre-UNGA push for governments to repeal their sex discriminatory laws bear fruit, when we received communications from the UN Mission of Syria and the President of Switzerland updating us on their progress.

Next steps for the most progressive women’s rights charter in the world

Equality Now is proud to be the Secretariat for the Solidarity for African Women’s Rights Coalition (SOAWR), bringing together champions of women’s rights from across the continent to hold governments accountable for protecting and promoting the rights of women and girls. Last month, SOAWR launched its new strategic plan for collective action to ensure the Maputo Protocol is adopted throughout the region.

Campaigners demand government action on epidemic of caste-based sexual violence in Uttar Pradesh

Earlier this month we joined over 75 human rights organizations in sending an open letter to Uttar Pradesh's Chief Minister over failure to protect Dalit women and girls from caste-based sexual violence. The letter was prompted by the rising number of grave incidents of rape and caste-based sexual violence in Uttar Pradesh over the last few months including the gangrape and physical attack committed in Hathras on 14 September 2020, which resulted in the death of a young Dalit woman on 29 September. 

We are continuing our work with partners to document and analyze the barriers to justice faced by Dalit survivors of sexual violence in Haryana State, in order to make clear what actions need to be taken to improve access to justice, ensure that authorities take steps to prevent violence and guarantee that all victims are treated equally and fairly under the law.

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Yasmeen Hassan joins Women’s Organizations for a Feminist Future Webinar

On 21 September, Equality Now’s Global Executive Director, Yasmeen Hassan, spoke on a panel hosted by the National Council of Women of Finland. The panel covered questions such as: How do international women’s organizations see the state of gender equality work now? And which actions have been especially efficient in promoting women’s rights? There was also discussion of potential legislation to amend the rape law away from a force-based definition to a consent-based one and to improve responses to FGM. We were honored to participate in this panel and to continue our partnership as the 2019 recipient of Finland’s International Gender Equality Prize.

Gloria Steinem biopic - The Glorias

Learn all about the incredible life of Equality Now's Emeritus Board Member, Gloria Steinem in Julie Taymor's new film adaptation of Gloria Steinem’s book, "My Life on the Road". The Glorias stars Julianne Moore, Alicia Vikander, Lorraine Toussaint, Janelle Monae, and Bette Midler ⁣and is available for purchase or included in Prime Video.

Coming up next 

Join the first of King's College London series of events exploring 'Patriarchal Inscriptions: Female bodies contested, invaded defended & owned', this Thursday to learn more about the global movement to end female genital mutilation in the context of rising populism and the impact of COVID-19.

Register Now

Equality Now in the news 

📰Equality Now’s Jean-Paul Murunga spoke with DW about the ‘shadow pandemic’ of rising violence against women in Africa, in the context of COVID-19

📰In a Guardian article, South Asia Consultant Divya Srinivasan urged Indian government officials to do more to protect Dalit women and girls from sexual and gender-based violence

📰We were honored to be in great company when Refinery 29 included Equality Now in a Day of the Girl article listing five organizations doing important work for girls’ rights

Thank you for being a huge part of our work, which would not be possible without your constant support and activism.

In solidarity,

Bryna Subherwal
Advocacy Campaign Manager

P.S. One way you can support our work is by wearing your #feminism on your sleeve! Our online shop is open and we’ve just added some new styles, like a Tie Dye box tee! Check it out!