Ms. Magazine: This International Safe Abortion Day, ‘We Need Action — Not Restrictions or Performative Promises’
Catherine Nyambura, lead consultant for Generation Equality in Kenya for the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW)

“…In March, COVID-19 disrupted the already struggling global health infrastructure and economy, and it highlighted and exacerbated the already staggering social and institutional inequities. And there is a confluence of issues we face as a global community. … This confluence has created a fraught political climate, and one that is characterized by pushback on women’s rights. … We are at a tipping point. On one hand, we have the 25th anniversary initiatives [recognizing the Fourth World Conference on Women that bore the Beijing Platform for Action, which outlined 12 areas of concern governments are called on to advance gender equality,] and global health, feminist, and social justice movements. On the other, we have the in-built systemic inequities and legislative obstacles these movements face. … Between today and the [Generation Equality Forum] next year, we have an opportunity to raise the bar — to bring our best ideas to the table to counter the barriers women and girls face worldwide and call [on] governments to amplify political will. In order for that to work, we need policies, programs, and services that are fully funded with built-in accountability mechanisms. Governments around the world, from the U.S. to Kenya and everywhere in between, should seize this moment…” (9/28).