APRIL 2021 NEWSLETTER
MESSAGE FROM THE IFIP TEAM
Dear Members and Friends,
The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action was adopted during The Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995, Beijing, China. Indigenous women from North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, Africa, Arctic, and Pacific have followed the progress made in the last twenty-five years within the framework of the Beijing Declaration. Indigenous women have since come together and formed advocacy strategies to overcome the challenges they face within their own communities, regionally and at the global fora.
The indigenous women’s movement has organized and ensured that the voice of indigenous women is heard in policy spaces such as at the Commission on the Status of Women and more recently at the Generation Equality Forum. The importance of these events lies in the inclusion of Indigenous Women in transformative actions to achieve gender equality.
It is important to highlight that Indigenous Women have been organizing and preparing for global action. The International Indigenous Women’s Forum and Indigenous Women’s regional networks that include Asia Indigenous Women’s Network (AIWN), Africa Indigenous Women’s Organization (AIWO), The Continental Link of Indigenous Women of the Americas (ECMIA), the Alliance of Indigenous Women of Central America and Mexico and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s Alliance (NATSIWA), came together to present a diverse consensual message representing Indigenous Women globally. Some of the issues that were highlighted included Indigenous women’s rights, access to education and health services, violence against women and girls, Indigenous Women involvement and participation in power and decision making.
In this newsletter, we highlight Indigenous Women working in international policy and highlight the importance of health and wellbeing of Indigenous Women organizers and leaders and the intersection between Indigenous Women rights and environmental justice.
In solidarity,
The IFIP Team