Beijing +20:Voices of Indigenous Women

Beijing + 20:Voices of Indigenous Women

A full room, with opening remarks. Sponsored by the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Women; the International fund for Agrcultural Development (IFAD) and the International Indigenous Women's Form (FIFI)

Indigenous women are told they are dirty, don't know how to give birth, the women are fed up, Others being violent towards them, this was normal. Isolated group. Indigenous women from Latin America are fed up, Ingenious women did not give up, they resisted, and were dignified. Fed up with being relegated to jails, and torture chambers. They are amazing creative, and brilliant. First resolution, fed up, reached out to us women that don't want to see any more women vitimized. Anxious to move move forward. Gender equality not just in name, "I learned from the different peoples that as long as a collective feeling for emancipation we can move forward." 20 years after Beijing, we have great expertise and wisdom, 80% of population have 5% of global wealth, We see majority of children didn't have birth certificates. 1.7 million girls trafficked. We are statisticked out.  We don't  want to be numbers.

Multisectoral, and Intersectionality of issues - Important to protect biodiversity. One of the prime agents for environmental preservation. High levels of discrimination. 

Reference to Report, just completed. Gender goal, achieving gender equality, leaving no one behind. Indigenous women are part of this. All the targets, we need to develop strategies for those countries with Indigenous populations. 

Distinction to preserve social norms that are discriminatory towards women. How to combine, the Indigenous women with progressive norms, which are feminist in the true sense of the word. Eliminating discriminating legislation. How to combine the best of the tradition with the best of feminist knowledge. Political Declaration, sectn. 6, Engaged with a number of countries. 

Speaker from Phillipines - women speak about lack of land rights, before speaking about violence. women's rights seen as individual rights. Indigenous women introduced the concept of community. Holistic way women can play an important role. Important role in preserving biodiversity. Reports have been done to build on these strengths.

Ms. Aminatu Samiratu Bambo, from Lelewal Foundation Women's Coordinator from Cameroon. UN Women scholarship - Spoke about situation in Cameroon, early marriage, GBV, no harmonizion of legislation with international agreements. Need for capacity buiding, want the next CSW to focus on women's issues and priority. 

Need more countries - have 13. Would be able to do more. Forum for contributing our solutions. Success with permanent forum - recommendations for Indigenous children. Many aspiring examples, 3 generations, forge alliances. Multi dimensional, different departments, Agriculture, education, women, still countrires where we are invisible. Indicators so we can show we are making progress.

I wondered why Canada's Indigenous women were not part of this panel. The president of NWAC was in the audience.