On International Women’s Day, March 8, UCLG reaffirms its commitment with the promotion of a municipal feminist movement, where local and regional governments foster transformative agendas for equality. We salute the efforts of women around the world in their caring roles and peace makers. We call on additional support and mobilization to provide protection to displaced, refugees and migrants’ women.
International Women’s Day is a milestone to salute the achievements made while looking ahead to identify new ways to address persistent inequalities and continue promoting the movement for women’s, girls’ and gender diverse peoples’ rights.
As showcased over the last two years, the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on women and girls makes it even more relevant to put gender at the center of the global agendas. In this crisis situation, armed conflicts add to the importance of pushing gender-sensitive responses on top of the conversation. Not only due to the specific gender dimensions of conflict-related violence and internal displacement, but also because of the crucial role of women in peace-building and community recovery.
Communities thrive when leaderships are shared and empathetic, when they foster social justice and equality while galvanizing a sense of ownership and common endeavor. Feminist leadership of men and women alike embodies these principles and must be at the forefront of a way to do politics that fosters dialogue and maintains open bridges to underpin a culture of peace in all its dimensions — human rights, safety and security, education, and socioeconomic development.
As an equality-driven movement, UCLG has embarked on the mandate of developing a Pact for the Future of Humanity for a more equal, just, sustainable way of living. In this process, the voices of women and girls are not only heard but are at the foundation of the Pact, contributing from the perspective of local leaders, grassroots, women, and indigenous movements from a standpoint that values interconnectivity, multiculturalism, and diversity.
Giving a face to those voices, UCLG is launching the podcast series Feminist Cities and Territories, insightful and relevant conversations with women leaders from around the world on their personal and political journeys. They reflect on what it means to feminize politics, putting the focus on caring for people and communities, and tending to people’s needs firsthand at the local and state level.
UCLG will further contribute to showcase the leadership of the feminist municipal movement during the 66th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW66). under the theme "Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programs". The official statement from the constituency to the general debate will be presented by the Mayor of Montevideo, Carolina Cosse.
The Local and Regional Governments’ Day on 18 March, 14:00-1900 CET, which will bring together local and regional governments, as well as partners and civil society representatives, and will be divided into four thematic sections, namely:
- Feminist Municipalism and the Global Agendas
- SDG5 in review: the role of local and regional governments, co-organized with CLGF
- Empowering women and girls for caring & resilient cities and territories
- Fostering gender equality and climate action through sustainable urban mobility co-organized with UITP
- You can register for these sessions here.
