What's in store for women's rights?
Next week is all about defending women’s human rights. There’s International Women’s Day, big UN talks on eliminating violence against women at the Commission on the Status of Women, and the launch of our exciting new campaign on women’s rights in Afghanistan.
But before any of that, we’ll be kicking off on Monday morning by hosting a keynote speech by Secretary of State for International Development Justine Greening at our East London office. You can watch it all live, and potentially have your question on women's rights answered by the Secretary of State.
Monday’s speech is a big deal: this is the UK Department for International Development (DFID) announcing their plans to protect and promote the rights of women and girls internationally for the next few years. And we’ll have a unique chance to quiz the Secretary of State right after she’s made these announcements. If there’s something you’d like to ask Justine Greening about her department’s spending or focus for the next few years, or point out any holes in their plans, this is your chance.
Livestream Monday’s event
10.30am-11.30am, Monday 4 March
You can follow all the political action live from the comfort of your sofa, desk or seat in Westminster.
We’ll be livestreaming on youtube for the duration of the event. The screen below will broadcast from 10.30am on Monday. So – literally – watch this space:
What are we hoping for?
We see this year as critical to the future of Afghanistan. We have a real opportunity to press the UK government to ensure that progress on women’s rights in Afghanistan is sustained. Violence against women and girls is endemic in Afghanistan and needs to be a clear focus and priority for the UK government.
DFID has already committed to prioritising women and girls in their work. At the speech we are hoping to hear the Secretary of State make a clear commitment to prioritising women and girls, particularly violence against women and girls in DFID’s work in Afghanistan including through making it a strategic priority in their next Operational Plan.
Submit your question to the Secretary of State
After she’s laid out the Government’s plans to defend the rights of women and girls, Justine Greening and a panel including our Director Kate Allen will be taking questions.
This is your chance to ask panelists on their thoughts on the future of women's rights. We've got loads of questions, but we'd love to hear yours. Here are a few ideas to get you started...
- What do you think the UK should be doing on women’s rights?
- What is the UK government doing to tackle violence against women both overseas and at the UN?
- How can DFID support and protect brave human rights defenders?
- How do they ensure that women’s rights in Afghanistan are not compromised in the peace process with the Taliban?
- How can we ensure better protection of women’s rights in international agreements?
Post your questions as comments on this blog, or tweet them with the hashtag #girlsandwomen and we’ll select a few to put to the panel on Monday morning.
And of course, you can watch as a selection are answered live, thanks to the power of livestream.
Our blogs are written by Amnesty International staff, volunteers and other interested individuals, to encourage debate around human rights issues. They do not necessarily represent the views of Amnesty International.
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To Justine Greening, the European Convention on Human Rights has been crucial in the fight for equal rights for women. This week Theresa May stated that she would like to pull the UK out of the Council of Europe. Do you think that using the ECHR and the Human Rights Act as a proverbial 'whipping boy' will undermine your work your departments work abroad and be seen as hypocritical when encouraging equality for women'
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