I attended Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) at the United Nations in New York City for the first time. As a FAWCO delegate, I attended sessions given by women’s groups from around the world, as well as volunteered with the NGO CSW Forum NY to help with directing conference attendees and speakers.
As a nurse practitioner committed to global health and advancing equity in women’s health and well-being, I came to CSW70 hoping to learn from international voices about the challenges and progress in advancing women’s rights—and I left with a deeper appreciation of their lived experiences and resilience.
Among the many powerful sessions, one...
The schedule at CSW is overwhelming (as Karen and Alex have told us all!). As recommended, I focused my attendance on sessions related to youth engagement, peace relations and child marriage. Two very different sessions that really impressed me were Child Marriages (UNICEF & UNFPA) and Youth in STEM (GIRLS SCOUTS).
From Protection...
The quote that haunts me…
“Why are you here?
I know you will say, ‘I have come here to learn…’
NO! You’ve come to get an assignment.”
It was later in the day when I encountered Faith Mwangi-Powell of Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage.
I had spent the morning with young women...
The 70th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) in March of this year (2026) came at an existential moment for women’s rights—not just in the US but worldwide. This year’s priority theme, “Ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls,” cuts across all areas affecting women’s rights and...
When people come together for advocacy, there’s real energy in the room. There’s also, sometimes, a quiet question: what will this actually change? If the answer doesn’t look like immediate policy change, it can be deflating. But that disappointment might say more about the standard we’re using than the event...
The impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) are disproportionately negative for women and girls—particularly the non-consensual distribution of intimate images (NCII). FAWCO sponsored a parallel event at the Commission on the Status of Women in March 2026 (CSW70as a parallel event of the NGO CSW New York Forum. Four brave women...