Annually, the United Nations hosts the Commission on the Status of Women, the biggest gathering to discuss gender issues. However, the global meeting is not accessible to all. African women have been repeatedly left out of the conversation and the Commission. They face visa denials with little to no attempts from embassies to facilitate the strenuous U.S. paperwork process. Most lack the resources and the time to fly to New York and stay for the meetings. If African women can overcome those issues and make it to the U.N., there is little time for them to speak on their issues and effectively voice their concerns. The theme for the 2022 Commission was addressing the climate crisis. Despite their first-hand knowledge of climate change impacts, African women were left out of the conversation due to technical language and geographic/political obstacles. To combat that, African women have started their own commission, Africa CSW. In 2022, they met with 60 representatives from 18 African nations to hold meetings at the same time as the opening sessions of the U.N.’s Commission on the Status of Women. The group that hosted Africa CSW is also calling for the UN CSW venue to rotate every year to allow for further participation. African women deserve to be centered in conversations that affect them. They should be able to hold their representatives accountable.
