[WATCH] Commonwealth Women’s Forum encourages women to ‘be all that you can be’

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The first ever Women’s Forum to be organised during a Commonwealth meeting of the heads of state and government will encourage women to “be all that you can be”.

The Commonwealth’s Women’s Forum, an initiative of the Maltese government, was set up with the intention of becoming a permanent Forum in future CHOGM programmes and be the focal point for discussions on women’s contributions in societies within the Commonwealth and beyond. 

Forum chair and lawyer Claire Cassar said that women’s economic empowerment was increasingly viewed as the key contributing factor to achieving equality between women and men. 

“By economically strengthening women – who are effectively half the world’s workforce – is not only a means by which to spur economic growth, but also a matter of advancing women’s human rights and contributing to the achievement of reckonable equality in society,” Cassar said. 

The Forum will provide a platform for women to discuss challenges they face, share best practice and agree on actions and recommendations to carry forward to the leaders of the Commonwealth. 

The theme chosen, Cassar said, was a clear message on the empowerment of women: “Women have the potential to change their own economic status, as well as that of the communities and countries in which they live. Yet more often than not, women’s economic contributions go unrecognized. Inequality between women and men continues to hamper women’s ability to empower themselves and improve their lives.

“In societies where equality for all is not just a notion but a tangible reality, communities are enriched by the diversity of contributions which transcend gender, in all aspects of life. This is the future we envisage for all the countries of the Commonwealth where over one billion women live.”

The Women’s Forum plans on discussing social and economic issues, to share stories of success, raise awareness about matters affecting women’s development and tackle poverty and inequality and create a networking platform. It also aims at encouraging younger generations to secure fulfilment in their lives and those of others.

Commonwealth countries have for long been trying to discuss gender equalities and strengthening regional and national mechanisms to monitor its progress. 

Sarah Kitakule, representative of the gender and economic empowerment section at the Commonwealth Secretariat, said that in spite of impossible odds, it’s difficult to say gender equality is impossible:

“For the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow.’ So before you and me say, ‘It can’t be done,’ we should instead be saying ‘Something must be done about this!’ It is important that men stand alongside women and also contribute to the fight for gender equality and I hope that the launch of this Women’s Forum will stir your heart to get involved and take action. If you’re willing to say ‘Yes!, as our theme of the Forum states Women Ahead: Be All That You Can Be, please support women from across the Commonwealth to get ahead and so they can be all that they can be to help create a better, more equitable and more sustainable world.”

Throughout history, women have led movements for change at every level and been an integral part of changes that have taken place politically, economically and socially.  

As a community of nations, the Commonwealth continually aspires to international human rights standards and development commitments including the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Beijing Platform for Action. We also have regional treaties, declarations and plans of actions on gender equality.  

“As we move from aspirations to entitlements and from plans and intentions to concrete actions, I commend the government of Malta for agreeing to host the first ever Women’s Forum to be held in wings of CHOGM,” Kitakule said.

“Achieving women’s social and economic empowerment will take sound public policies, a holistic approach and long-term commitment from all development actors. The future presents hope for women. As growing numbers of women enter the economic mainstream, they will have a profound effect on global business.”

She said that the Commonwealth must summon both the political and financial will to honour and sustain its commitment to deliver real progress on improving the lives of women and girls: “By holding the Women’s Forum we hope to influence real change for all women, men, girls and boys across the Commonwealth. Our presence here today reaffirms our commitment to support all efforts for women’s social, political and economic empowerment and increased equality for all as a prerequisite for more sustainable development and democracy across our united Commonwealth family.”

The Women’s Forum was heartily welcomed by President of the Republic Marie Louise Coleiro Preca and Equal Opportunities Minister Helena Dalli, who described herself as a “committed feminist”.

Coleiro Preca said that those in authority needed to facilitate the empowerment of women, pointing out that women and girls experienced harsh realities: “Girls are still being denied education, abducted from their families for sexual exploitation, forced to undergo genital mutilation and victims of violence and cruelty.”

Dalli pointed out the implementation of government’s policies in order to increase female participation in the labour market.