Climate change, gender equality, violence at international conference in Nicosia

How climate change affects women in the Mediterranean and how women can create sustainable societies and help in the green transition and also how to approach violence against girls and women in Mediterranean countries were discussed in two round table discussions held on Thursday in Nicosia, in the framework of the "Women for the Mediterranean" Conference (#Women4Mediterranean). The conference is co-organised by the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and the Office of the Commissioner for Gender Equality of the Republic of Cyprus. It began Thursday afternoon with distinguished speakers from the MENA region and wraps up tomorrow. Cyprus News Agency is the media partner. In the first panel, the speakers discussed the consequences of climate change in the Mediterranean countries and how women are affected. They touched on issues such as good practices and how the Food Agency tries to organize inclusive feeding systems. The panel was attended by Cristiana Carletti of the University of Roma Tre and advisor to t he Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who spoke about how her country prepared for the G7 presidency and especially for the climate crisis and for the efforts in general for gender equality, promotion of the rights of women and girls, post-pandemic and other contemporary challenges. She talked about the priorities for protecting women and eliminating all forms of discrimination, for economic and social empowerment of women and how women become resistant to the challenge of the climate crisis. Reference was also made to the conclusions of the COP28 on the climate crisis and women, such as the creation of jobs for the green and blue economy and their participation in decision-making. Antonella Autino, coordinator of the Future4prima project of the PRIMA programme referred to the goals of the project to promote cooperation in resource management issues in ecosystems, energy and health and for sustainable management of water and food systems. The objectives, as she said, are covered by a holistic strategy th at is consistent with the European Green Deal and actively contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. She also said that the project itself employs women and men in equal numbers and promotes gender equality by providing women and men the necessary tools to fulfill their goals. Chiraz Bensemmane, founder of Pitch World Fast, spoke about the goal of supporting women entrepreneurs who want to promote their own businesses, many of them small, family businesses in remote areas, in the agricultural sector. She said that a lot is being done by women but they remain on the sidelines and the goal is for women to come forward and become visible. She added that many businesses are in the desert in Algeria where difficulties are greater due to the climate crisis, water scarcity and prolonged drought. She also noted that the culture of recycling and reuse already exists in Algerian society and especially among women. In the second panel, issues related to violence against girl s and women were discussed at length with speakers Simone Briony Louise Oluoch-Olunya, an UNWOMEN Regional Advisor, Sakina Yabouri of the UfM Morocco focal point, Dr. Hanna Nakhleh of the UfM for Palestine and Laia Rosich Solé Director General of the Directorate for the Eradication of Violence in Catalan government, Spain. Simone Briony Louise Oluoch-Olunya in her presentation said that the issue of violence against women is becoming more and more acute while in the past although there were cases, the issue was left on the sidelines. She referred to the role of UNWOMEN and the mandate of the organisation saying that for the last five years they have been trying to collect data on violence against women especially in politics. She talked about psychological, sexist, physical and financial violence and said that most cases focus on psychological violence in politics. She also referred to various strategies to eradicate the phenomena such as raising awareness of the society through campaigns and training the media. Sakina Yabouri referred to the new strategy adopted and evidence of violence against women and girls in Morocco. The measures to address the issue include, among others, the adoption of a legislative framework for equality and the protection of the female population, the introduction of preventive measures and the adoption of actions. Dr. Hanna Nakhleh of the UfM Palestine called on the international community to end the war in the region saying that the situation on the ground is dramatic. He described the situation in Gaza and the refugee settlements, saying that women are paying a heavy price. He also referred to the dilemma of promoting the issue of racial equality at a time when the region is suffering because of war and the fact that women should not only be the recipients of any aid but be in a position to co-shape policies. He also said that a large percentage of women are educated and receive higher education but this is not reflected in the labor market. Laia Rosich Solé presented the str ategy to eradicate violence which includes legislation, horizontal coordination, due diligence strategies, services for victims of violence and systematic information campaigns. Source: Cyprus News Agency