This year in March, I had the opportunity to attend the 68th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York. This was my first time attending CSW in person and my first time planning and implementing a parallel side event on such a platform. As a young woman deeply committed to sustainable development and gender equality, my experience planning and participating in a parallel side event at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) was both challenging and profoundly empowering. Representing my organization and team from Tag a Life International (TaLI), which focuses on empowering adolescent girls and young women in Zimbabwe with the voice, agency, and skills to advocate for their rights and create movements within their communities, I embarked on a journey that tested my resilience, passion, and determination. We hosted a side event on the 15th of March in the Church Center on the UN Grounds in New York. This event was a buildup from the Adolescent Girls and Young Women Africa Network (AGYW Africa), which is a platform led by TaLI for girls and young women across Africa to come together and share their issues and recommendations for the enhancement of their rights.
One of the primary struggles we faced was securing funding and VISAS for all the young women we wanted to take to CSW. Limited resources meant we had to be creative and resourceful in our approach. Despite the challenges, our perseverance paid off, and we were able to secure the necessary funding to attend the CSW and ensure our event was a success!
Being a part of the planning process was a transformative yet humbling experience. Collaborating with other passionate young women from my team, Tatenda Tahla and Chandel Charenzva, with the leadership of Executive Director Ms Nyari Mashayamombe, we developed a comprehensive plan for our side event and its preparation. We made sure to support each other with each task that needed to be executed from flyers, IEC, and publicity designs to logistics, mobilisation, and communication. Through our AGYW Africa Network, we worked with brilliant young women from diverse backgrounds to develop our plight and our voices on adolescent girls and young women’s issues through the creation of a petition. This was the consolidation of our Road to CSW68 buildup journey, where young women came together to start discussing issues of representation and young women’s leadership. We focused on highlighting the importance of young women’s representation and inclusion in leadership for the achievement of gender equality and sustainable development, drawing from our own experiences and challenges, and the need for enhanced access to information and service delivery in education, health, and economic empowerment.
Implementing our event at the CSW68 was a surreal experience. Standing before a diverse audience of high-level personnel, activists, and stakeholders, I felt a sense of pride and responsibility, especially as I was the one who had gotten the opportunity to represent my team who weren’t able to be in New York. Along with other young women and senior women, we shared our AGYW Africa journey and the issues faced by young women in Africa, highlighting the importance of paving the way for young women’s participation in high-level platforms such as CSW and leveraging the potential of women across all generations. The response was overwhelming, with many expressing admiration and compassion for our commitment and dedication to amplifying the voice of the African girl child.
Presenting our petition to the UN Women at CSW was a significant milestone in my life. Throughout its development and all the way to presenting the petition to the UN Women, I was reaffirmed of my belief in the power of young women’s leadership and the importance of amplifying the voices of young women in decision-making processes. This experience also highlighted the challenges young women face in accessing opportunities and resources, underscoring the need for greater support and investment in young women-led initiatives.
In conclusion, my experience at the CSW was a transformative journey that tested my resilience and determination. I believe it highlighted the challenges young women face in accessing opportunities and resources, but also the immense potential and impact of youth leadership. As a young woman, I am more determined than ever to continue advocating for young women’s representation in leadership and sustainable development, knowing that our voices can truly make a difference.