Raising our Voices: Global Campaigning for SRHR

During the Women’s Month, WGNRR highlighted the fundamental rights of women and girls in all their diversity and celebrated the gains towards achieving equality. We remembered how women crossed the line throughout history to claim, defend, and advance these rights.  Among these fundamental rights is sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), which is essential to women's empowerment and key to their ability to participate in decision-making actively and meaningfully in all aspects and spheres of their lives. During the women’s month, we came together as SRHR activists to assess the realization of and factors that affect women's rights to life, health, bodily autonomy, equality and non-discrimination, and freedom from violence, among others. We maximized the opportunity to critically examine how to address the economic, social, and political inequalities that shape and exacerbate the vulnerabilities and risks to women and girls. We also scrutinized any rollbacks on SRHR and in the elimination of all forms of GBV because of the COVID-19 pandemic that has compounded social and gender inequalities. 

We started the month with a call to action in support of this year’s International Women’s Day and Women’s Month them which was “gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow”. This emphasis on sustainability also aligned with theme of the 66th session of the Commission on the Status of Women: “Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes”. 

The call to action focused on gender equality and women’s empowerment as crucial components to respond to the ongoing climate crisis. It put a  spotlight the centrality of SRHR to achieving justice for marginalised peoples all over the world. #SRHR4ALL means that everyone, including those that have been and are systematically disadvantaged due to poverty, race, ethnicity, disability, and sexual orientation and gender identity and expression, and vulnerability to crises, among others, are able to make choices over their bodies, access opportunities, and participate in all spheres of life.

In our Written Statement for the Commission on the Status of Women 66^th Session, we highlighted that focusing on pandemic, disaster and emergency response without an intersectional justice, gender, and equity lens is inadequate. Any public health strategy that is not mindful of human rights, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, will not only be inept and unsustainable but will also create an enabling environment for grave human rights violations. It has already been recognized that empowering women and girls is central to achieving gender empowerment and equality, yet as the above realities illustrate, indigenous and rural women and girls remain monumentally underserved, particularly with regards to their sexual and reproductive health and rights. climate change is not only a hazard in itself, but also exacerbates interactions between biological and other natural hazards, which in turn affects the underlying risk drivers of poverty and inequality, in a vicious circle.

During the Women’s Month, we held online and offline discussions, twitter rallies, learning sessions and participated in a number of regional and global events.

We joined the #CSW66 official side event which features including a mini-documentary featuring Generation Equality Forum (GEF) Action Coalition leaders and commitment makers from all across the world!

We launched the Pasya Music Album on Spotify and other major streaming platforms.

"Pasya" is the Filipino word that means decision or choice that one makes after thinking carefully. Pasya music album celebrates the strength of people standing up to challenges against their rights to bodily autonomy. The Album is produced by WGNRR with the support of theSafe Abortion Action Fund

To learn more visit: https://decriminalizeabortion.ph

#SRHR4ALL #AbortionIsHealthcare #SRHRActivistsInAction #DecriminalizeAbortionNOW

Watch out for the launch of the Call for Action of the May 28 International Day of Action for Women's Health.