Why is the empowerment of indigenous women so important for poverty eradication, achievement of sustainable development and the fight against gender-based violence?

“We, indigenous women, want to be considered as part of the solution, because we […] have our knowledge, which is very useful and effective for initiatives for sustainable development,” said Tarcila Rivera Zea, an indigenous woman from Peru, during a press conference on the empowerment of indigenous women, taking place  on the sidelines of the Commission on the Status of Women on 16 March.

“We are still overwhelmingly over-represented in statistics of poverty, hunger and death,” Ms. Rivera said, as she participated in a panel discussion on the same topic later that day. Indeed, all over the world, indigenous women are victims of discrimination, violence, extreme poverty, trafficking, illiteracy, lack of access to ancestral lands, and non-existent or poor health care. To cope with these issues, indigenous peoples’ rights have been put at the core of the 2030 Agenda as one of those groups that the Agenda promises not to leave behind.

During the press conference and the panel discussion, both taking place during the 60^th Commission on the Status of Women, many indigenous women shared their experiences and recommendations related to the empowerment of indigenous women and its importance for poverty eradication, political participation and combating violence. In this context, the different stakeholders underscored the fact that indigenous women’s participation has to be ensured and strengthened, starting with their own institutions and extending to the international community, in accordance with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Indigenous women have for long been engaged in calling for women’s rights and equality in their communities all over the world. For more than twenty years, since the Fourth World Conference on Women, organized by the United Nations in Beijing in 1995, the indigenous women have also been present to assert their views and demands at the international level during the Commission of the Status on Women and other international forums. The global level recognition of the struggles and contributions of indigenous women to sustainable development is crucial to support the ongoing work of indigenous women in their communities.

“We seek to have a greater audience and we seek to be more recognized within the international community, within international organizations, even regional organizations and national organizations,” said Valerie Kasaiyian, an indigenous woman from Kenya, while encouraging indigenous women to take a more active role not only in politics, but also in the private sector and academia. “One of the best tactics of empowering indigenous women is encouraging more indigenous women to research and publish on pertinent issues regarding indigenous women’s rights,” she recommended at the panel discussion.

The two events, in part organized by the Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in UN DESA, offered valuable opportunities to highlight indigenous women’s achievements and challenges, while underscoring the importance of their empowerment at all levels.