26.11.20
A look back at our online High Level Panel Discussion of 25 November 2020 - Event recording, highlights, how you can get involved in the #RaiseAPen campaign
→ See also panelist bios and background information on the invitation article
Our virtual high-level panel discussion answering the call of Afghan mothers for the continued right to education for women and girls in Afghanistan was an inspirational event. There was transparency, courage and honesty not just in the panel discussion room but also in the audience chat room where animated comments and questions flew backwards and forwards – to the panelists – and to fellow attendees.
In her video message, which opened the discussion, Rahela Sidiqi, Founder & Director of the Farkhunda Trust for Afghan Women’s Education, an MMM associate member and partner of the #RaiseAPen campaign, set the tone:
“We need Afghan women’s voices to be a part of the global conversation. Education is a key engine of development and prosperity, the cornerstone for freedom and democracy. Afghan women are a strong catalyst for driving sustainable development and change. There can be no going back for them. The only way is forward.”
It was an emotional wrap to the event. When asked by our Moderator Mary Kaldor, Professor of Global Governance and CEO of the Conflict Research Program, IDEAS, London School of Economics and Political Science, to raise their pens in solidarity, all the panelists in unison did exactly that, pledging to support the campaign going forward.
It is clear that we all have a responsibility to spread the message far and wide, to raise the voices of Afghan women and girls loud and clear. To this effect, MMM President Anne-Claire de Liedekerke called on each of us to commit to concrete actions to take the campaign forward by presenting a ‘how you can get involved’ pledge.
A short video concluded the event, exemplifying what each of us can do: the more pens raised globally, the louder our collective voice.
04.03.20
UN New York - Report on the side-event that MMM organized on the margins of the 58th session of the Commission on Social Development on 18 February 2020 at the
12.11.20
Make Mothers Matter (MMM), backed by key global personalities and organisations, is kicking off the #RaiseAPen campaign with a strong mobilisation video, answering the call of mothers in Afghanistan f
08.03.20
International Women's Day - 'Time to Care’, the Oxfam report released earlier this year, put the spotlight on the link between global inequalities and an issue at the core of
20.02.21
In April 2015 the Shared Parental Leave Scheme came into force in the United Kingdom. The new scheme still required that new mothers take the first two weeks of maternity leave. But now they could exchange th
19.02.21
UN New York, CSocD59 – MMM's oral statement at the general debate closed our series of contributions to the 59th UN Commission on Social Development
14.02.21
UN New York, CSocD59 - A look back at our virtual side-event that took place on February 12th to coincide with the 59th UN Commission on Social Development
10.02.21
UNESCO - At the start of the global pandemic in 2020, eight NGO-UNESCO partners decided to collaborate with their grass roots associations in solidarity actions to share the voices of the most vulnerable and to
31.01.21
UN New York, CSocD59 - On 12 February, join MMM’s virtual side-event during the 59th UN Commission on Social Development.
25.01.21
October 2020 saw the results of the first Irish Maternity Experience Survey, providing an important insight into women’s experiences at all stages of maternity care in Ireland - antenatal, care during labour