Persistent wage gaps between the sexes, for example in Switzerland, inadequate protection against domestic violence for women, for example in Peru, or health disadvantages due to a high HIV infection rate among women, for example in Tanzania: No matter where you look, women are still disadvantaged worldwide. This also affects Mission 21's field of action.
That is why Mission 21 is part of an international movement for gender justice. Mission 21 has a vision of a world in which human rights also apply fully to women. To realize this vision, Mission 21's Women and Gender Unit launched the Advocacy Program in 2016. In workshops in Switzerland, key people from partner organizations are empowered to advocate for women's human rights and learn new advocacy tools. They then pass on the knowledge they have acquired in their society, organization or church. In doing so, they often have to shake up deeply rooted patriarchal beliefs and do a lot of grassroots work.
Josefina Hurtado, Head of the Women and Gender Unit at Mission 21, says: "Despite these difficult circumstances, we keep receiving encouraging news from our partner countries." Take Nigeria, for example: at the end of January 2019, the women's department of the partner church EYN (Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) hosted an interfaith workshop on gender justice and advocacy. It was the first such workshop to include Muslim women, and it was not a one-time success: out of it, five interfaith advocacy groups are now forming and meeting regularly. At the Church of the Brethren headquarters, the Women's Department also held another workshop on these issues, with men participating alongside women - including the church president. "We are impressed by the participation and understanding on the part of the men," says Suzan Mark, head of women's ministry in Nigeria. And Mathias Waldmeyer, program officer for Nigeria at Mission 21, adds, "Workshops like this show that Mission 21's advocacy program is bearing fruit."
On Women's Day on March 8, we want to remember such successes and at the same time admit to ourselves: we still have a long way to go.
