Compromise Is Not — and Never Was — an Option: Our Reflections on CSW69
Women Deliver came to the 69th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69) with a clear set of priorities: advancing the rights of adolescent girls, securing climate justice, protecting shrinking civic space, and reclaiming narratives from far-right, anti-rights actors. We knew the road ahead would be steep. Across the globe, hard-fought gains on girls’ and women’s rights — and the broader goal of gender equality — are under attack.
Our purpose at CSW69 was twofold: to celebrate progress and to reignite momentum for gender equality by engaging with accountable stakeholders and resisting attempts by anti-rights actors to dominate the agenda. As an organization rooted in inclusive convenings, Women Deliver showed up to defend and expand civil society space in multilateral forums and to dismantle barriers to meaningful participation — particularly for young people. Knowing this work cannot be done in isolation, we emphasized our commitment to collective action and partnership every step of the way.
Throughout CSW69, we:
- Demanded that adolescent girls be recognized as their own constituency — with full agency and autonomy to shape their futures.
- Exposed how the climate crisis disproportionately harms adolescent girls, threatening their rights, including access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).
- Called out and dismantled anti-rights, far-right narratives through bold, intersectional, evidence-based advocacy.
- Asserted the continued importance of CSW as a space for feminist advocacy — even as multilateral systems face a legitimacy crisis, weakened cooperation, and growing distrust, compounded by mounting restrictions, accessibility barriers, and exclusionary processes.
Achievements and Ongoing Challenges
This year, negotiations on the Political Declaration — a formal statement adopted by UN Member States that outlines shared commitments and political will to advance gender equality — were completed before CSW officially began. This procedural shift significantly limited civil society’s ability to meaningfully engage and shape the outcome.
Yet feminists never give up easily. Through coordinated efforts with civil society partners and governments championing SRHR, we succeeded in achieving a historic milestone: for the first time, adolescent girls were explicitly mentioned in the political declaration. This progress is part of our broader push to shape international norms that drive lasting change.
Still, anti-rights pushback is escalating. SRHR are under renewed attack, and efforts to center climate justice continue to be sidelined — despite both being fundamental to achieving gender equality at every stage of life. These setbacks make it even more urgent that we stay mobilized, organized, and unapologetically vocal.
Resisting Anti-Rights Movements
From the outset of CSW69, we made our stance clear:
“At CSW and in all global spaces, we will not yield. Hate groups do not speak for us. They will not decide who deserves rights nor erase us from the future.”
This bold declaration grounded our engagement and signaled to allies and opponents alike that we are not backing down.
Shaping Feminist Narratives
We continued to invest in narrative power as a tool for change. As part of our ‘Daring to Dream’ process, we co-hosted visioning workshops with over 30 partner organizations. Together, we explored bold, transformative visions for gender equality — ones that center adolescent girls, prioritize climate justice, and are grounded in inclusive data. This process is ongoing and will soon enter its next phase, with the aim of shaping feminist narratives that carry us through 2030 and beyond.
Fostering Inclusive Global Spaces
We supported three Emerging Leaders to attend and speak at CSW69, amplifying their voices in critical conversations.
Unfortunately, visa denials kept two Emerging Leaders from attending — yet another example of how structural inequities continue to shut out young people from the spaces where decisions are made. Those who did attend made their mark: Solange Ingabire spoke passionately at a Women Deliver side event about the need to move from commitments to concrete action. Stephannie Esther Sayo spoke at the “From Beijing to Today and Beyond: Funding Feminist Movements to Win” event, highlighting the critical funding landscape for feminist movements — particularly those led by advocates from the global majority. Modesta Joseph delivered a powerful call for governments to recognize adolescent girls as essential decision-makers during CSW’s General Discussion.
Launching WD2026: Solidarity and Commitment
We also hosted a vibrant reception to launch the Women Deliver 2026 Conference (WD2026), hosted by the Oceanic Pacific region and held in Narrm (Melbourne), Australia from 27–30 April, 2026.
The WD2026 launch was a moment of joy and solidarity — but also one of serious intention. Alongside our co-hosts, we reaffirmed that WD2026 will be a space to unite, mobilize, resist, and build the just future we all deserve. It won’t just be a reaction to anti-rights narratives — it will be a space for propositional visioning, for shaping the world we want to live in. In a time of rising opposition to fundamental human rights, militarization, genocide, and political double standards, this work is more urgent than ever.
Moving Forward Together
Our work at CSW69 was rooted in movement-building: deepening partnerships, shifting power to young people, and centering those most affected by inequality. This work goes beyond being in the room — it’s about reshaping whose voices are heard, whose experiences guide decisions, and whose leadership defines the path forward.
As we mark 30 years since the Beijing Platform for Action, Women Deliver invites you to stay in the fight. Together, we can, we must, push back against hate, hold governments to their commitments, and act with urgency and imagination.
