Is the UN Commission on the Status of Women Truly for All Women?
CSW69 Banner retrieved from CSW69 website
The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is supposed to be a space where all women are welcomed, heard, and empowered. Yet, the gatekeeping around recent CSW events seems to indicate that, despite the “pro inclusivity” banners, progressive groups selectively silence voices that challenge prevailing narratives.
During CSW69 in New York, a volunteer with the International Youth Coalition, a C-Fam program, and her baby were removed from an event held by Sweden, “Religion, Rights and Resistance: How to Reclaim Gender Equality in Times of Backlash.” Yet, the organizers’ actions suggest that certain women, particularly those who hold pro-life views, are unwelcome in the conversation.
The volunteer had traveled from France with her toddler to attend these discussions and learn from different perspectives. She “was not there as an activist”, according to her own words, nor was she disrupting the event. She stood silently at the back of the room, listening. Twenty minutes into the session, an organizer approached her and told her she had to leave.
What was the justification? The room was at full capacity.
Except—it wasn’t. The volunteer noticed that at least one-third of the seats remained empty.
She was carrying a simple bag that read, “For Life and Family.” To enforce their demand, one of the event organizers brought the stroller to the elevator, signaling that she—and her child—had no place there.
The baby was not making noise or disturbing anyone. If CSW is truly about inclusion and empowerment, why was a mother ejected from a discussion that claimed to fight for women’s rights?
This was not an isolated case. Four other pro-life volunteers were denied entry to the same event. They were told the room was full, yet one of them had registered three weeks in advance.
At the same time, several individuals who did not align with conservative views were allowed to attend conservative events. Not one of them was removed. This disparity suggests something deeper: Are CSW organizers actively screening attendees and removing dissenting voices?
The United Nations claims to be a space where women's voices matter. But if those voices dissent from a particular ideology, they are silenced, excluded, and erased. Women’s empowerment should not be conditional. It should not depend on whether a woman embraces a “politically correct” stance or carries a certain ideological banner.
If CSW is truly about equality and inclusion, it must do better. It must be a place where all women, regardless of their views, can participate. Otherwise, it is not empowerment—it is indoctrination.
