7 minute read
FINDING COMMON GROUND: THE POWER OF ADVOCACY TO BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER
Helen Keller once said, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”This spirit of collaboration and the desire to extend their individual influence iswhat brings many people to join Zonta. These women and men, while diversein their backgrounds and beliefs, come together to use their collective voices toadvocate for changes that will realize Zonta’s vision for a world in which women’srights are recognized as human rights and every woman is able to achieveher full potential, a world where women have access to all resources and arerepresented in decision-making positions on an equal basis with men, a worldwhere no woman lives in fear of violence.
The ability to mobilize individuals and effect change through advocacyis one of Zonta International’s greatest strengths. Zonta advocacy happensat the international, national and local levels through the actions and effortsof Zonta districts, clubs and individual members, and through strategiccollaboration with like-minded organizations. It targets ongoing systemicissues like gender-based violence, education and the gender pay gap, as wellas emerging issues like climate change, cyberviolence and COVID-19. Aboveall, Zonta advocacy is nonpartisan and nonsectarian.
Zonta International’s advocacy efforts areneeded now more than ever. Despite hard-wonprogress over the last few decades, today, ZontaInternational’s vision of gender equality seems tobe getting farther out of reach. The world is facingunprecedented challenges, including a globalpandemic, widespread gender inequality andclimate change. While these challenges are felt bycommunities around the world, they uniquely impactwomen and girls. The possibility of effecting changeunder such circumstances can seem daunting;however, Zonta International and its membersacross the globe have risen to the challenge, findingnew and creative ways to collaborate and advocatefor women and girls.
In a new five-part webinar series, brought to you by the International Advocacy Committee, you are invited to learn more about topics such as:
Women's role in climate change. Gender-based violence and cyberbullying. Women in the workplace. n Human trafficking and sexual violence.
Ending Child Marriage: An assessment of successes and failures is on demand now at www.zonta.org/videos.
What is nonpartisan?
People often confuse being nonpartisan with beingnonpolitical. Advocacy requires engaging with politicalsystems and the individuals elected or appointed toserve in those systems. To be nonpartisan means that,when engaging in advocacy, you are not aligning thatadvocacy with one political party.
For example, the Zonta Club of Brooklyn, NewYork, USA organized a nonpartisan voter registrationevent, where they encouraged voters of any politicalaffiliation to register to vote. Likewise, the Zonta clubsin Germany are undertaking a new advocacy initiativeto encourage women to vote, especially youngwomen and first-time voters, while also encouragingmore women, regardless of political party, to runfor office. These clubs are engaging in the politicalsystems of their countries without becoming partisan.
The Zonta Club of Noarlunga Southern Vales, Australia, partnered with the Onkaparinga Council to support the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign.
The Zonta Club of Wangaratta, Australia, advocated ending violence against women during the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.
Advocating for a world where no woman or girl lives in fear of violence
The goal of achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls will not be realized without the elimination of violence against women and girls. Therefore, preventing gender-based violence and providing services to survivors of violence has been a key focus of Zonta International’s service and advocacy work for the last 25 years. Those efforts gained even more momentum with the launch of the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign in 2012. While the campaign is aligned with the 16 Days of Activism against Gender- Based Violence, Zonta districts and clubs support Zonta Says NO activities throughout the year. Read about the variety of actions taken by our Zonta clubs and Z and Golden Z student clubs at www.zontasaysno.com/zontiansinaction/.
Sadly, violence against women and girls has increased exponentially during the COVID-19 pandemic as social and economic stresses combined with measures to restrict movement and outside contact. These unique and challenging circumstances call for a coordinated and holistic response to preventing and responding to violence against women and girls and domestic violence. When news broke earlier this year that several countries indicated their intent to withdraw from the Council of Europe’s Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence precisely at the time when it is needed most, Zonta International responded. In April 2021, Zonta International issued a statement reaffirming support for The Council of Europe Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, in addition to a previous statement in September 2020.
Activists in Turkey hold banners that say, “We Will Enforce the Istanbul Convention.”
The Zonta Club of Hilo, USA, worked with Hawaii County Mayor Mitch Roth, the County Council and the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office to promote awareness of Denim Day as part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April.
—Helen Keller
Advocating for greener, cleaner and more equal societies
Climate change disproportionately affects women and girls, from naturaldisasters to food security, access to clean water, health and migration. Therefore,the response to climate change must also come from a gender equalityperspective. While Zonta International is not an environmental or disasterresponse organization, Zonta is an organization pledged to empower womenand girls at the global and local levels and promote justice and universal respectfor human rights and fundamental freedoms. Therefore, this biennium, ZontaInternational is adding its voice to join others in advocating for solutions to thecrisis of climate change. At its April 2021 meeting, the Zonta International Boardapproved a new statement on climate change. Through this statement, ZontaInternational addresses the importance of taking a fair, human rights and genderequality-based approach to climate change through calls to action for bothgovernments and Zonta International’s membership.
Climate change was also an important part of Zonta International’s statementto the 65th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW65). Inthe statement, Zonta International called for women’s health and responses togender-based violence to be prioritized in disaster preparedness and responseplans. Zonta also emphasized the importance of acknowledging and includingwomen’s voices about the harmful impacts of climate change, as well as listeningto and learning from their attempts to mitigate and adapt to those impacts.Women must be recognized and valued as decision-makers, educators,caregivers, community leaders and experts across all sectors, and their uniqueperspectives and expertise should be utilized to develop successful, long-termstrategies to address climate change.
The Zonta Club of Kowloon, Hong Kong, collaborated with Harmony House, the first nongovernmental organization in Hong Kong committed to end domestic violence, to help women in need during different stages of COVID-19.
Climate change is a local issue too. By early 2020, bushfires in Australia had destroyed more than 100,000 square kilometers of land, killing 34 people and millions of animals and demolishing thousands of homes. Following this natural disaster, Zonta clubs in District 23, which comprises the states of Western Australia, South Australia, Northern Territory, Tasmania and Victoria, launched Zonta Says NOW to Gender Equality and Climate Action. Through Zonta Says NOW, District 23 Zontians are taking action individually and collaboratively to reduce emissions, regenerate the environment and create a more equitable world. Learn more about their efforts at www.zontasaysnow.org.au/.
Advocating for equitable and sustainable COVID-19 response and recovery plans
COVID-19 and its impacts on health, education and the economy have haddevastating consequences for women and girls and threaten the fragile progressalready made in the fight for gender equality. In particular, the economic impactsof COVID-19, while significant for everyone, are felt more harshly by women,who generally earn less, save less, hold less secure jobs and are more likely towork in the informal sector. With more than 1.52 billion students out of school atthe height of the pandemic and increased health care burdens put on families,women have been forced to take on greater care demands at home, whilealso facing potential cuts and layoffs at work. Women also have less access tosocial protections and lead most single-parent households. The situation is evenmore dire in developing economies, where 70% of women are employed in theinformal sector with few protections against dismissal or paid sick leave.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many women migrant workers had to return to Nepal after losing their jobs. With its program Women on Wheels, the Zonta Club of Kathmandu trained migrant women on health and hygiene, financial literacy and basic women rights in the Nepalese constitution. These women are now making a living through selling vegetables, popcorn, fruit and roasted corn with the carts.
Women’s health is also negatively impacted when resources and priorities, including sexual and reproductive health services, are reallocated during times of crisis. Women and girls have unique health needs, but they are already less likely to have access to health services and adequate insurance, especially in rural and marginalized communities. As a result, there has been an alarming increase in the number of teenage pregnancies, as resources have been shifted from routine reproductive health services to respond to COVID-19.
Widespread income loss and economic insecurity among families are also likely to increase rates of child marriage. As schools closed, girls not in school became at greater risk of child marriage. If they are away from school too long, they may never return.
The COVID-19 pandemic will have a lasting impact for many years to come, and a sustainable recovery will require changes in laws and policies to ensure an equitable recovery for women and men. In its statement to the CSW65, Zonta International called on Member States and the United Nations to address the long-term impacts of COVID-19 and ensure an equitable and sustainable recovery that benefits women and men, girls and boys. Recovery needs to address girls’ access to education, gender-based violence, child marriage, women’s economic empowerment, equal access to social services, and women’s leadership in government and the private sector.
Though spread out between 63 countries with areas of focus ranging from climate change and women’s health to gender-based violence, child marriage and human trafficking, all Zonta International’s members have the common goal of achieving gender equality. With this goal in mind, our members are united as they advocate for change and fight for the future of women and girls.
