Mona Sinha on International Women's Day: Legal Change and Digital Rights for Gender Equality

Role at Equality Now

• ⚖️ Mona Sinha, Global Executive Director at Equality Now, works to advocate for legal changes that protect the rights of women and girls globally.
• 🌍 Equality Now is a human rights organization that has influenced nearly 100 laws worldwide over its 33-year existence.

Progress and Setbacks in Gender Equality

• 📈 Significant progress has been made since the 1995 Beijing Platform for Gender Equality, with 60 countries liberalizing abortion laws and recognizing child marriage as a human rights abuse.
• ⚠️ However, setbacks persist, such as in Afghanistan where women are banned from public life, and in countries like India, the Bahamas, Kuwait, and Libya where marital rape is still permitted.
• 📉 The rollback of child marriage laws in Iran, pushing the minimum age to nine, highlights ongoing systemic challenges.

Digital Rights and Gender Equality

• 💻 Digital tools can be used to amplify discrimination and silence women's voices, with misogyny and harassment prevalent online, particularly targeting women politicians.
• 🌐 Equality Now advocates for governance and guardrails in the digital space to protect women and ensure equal rights are mainstreamed.
• 🤝 The global digital compact at the UN provides a framework for international organizations and countries to address these issues.
• 🔗 While digital tools can be a force for good, amplifying causes and connecting women, access remains an issue for many globally, hindering economic participation.

Coalitions and Grassroots Movements

• 🤝 Equality Now operates through global coalitions, leveraging the strength of thousands of women's organizations and male allies to advocate for specific causes.
• 🗣️ These coalitions help develop a stronger voice and platform, pushing for change at the policy level.
• 🏛️ The organization also works with governments in well-functioning democracies to help them understand the impact of gender inequality issues.