Global Leaders Urged to Prioritise Comprehensive Sexuality Education and Women's Rights
- 365healthdiaries
- Oct 14
- 2 min read
By Hamu Madzedze
Online Health and Gender Editor-Zimbabwe
The SHE & Rights session, held ahead of the International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP) 2025, emphasised the need for accountability and action on women's rights and comprehensive sexuality education.
Shobha Shukla, CNS Executive Director and Host of SHE & Rights, highlighted the significance of the session, which was held on the theme: "It is time for accountability and action after UNGA High Level Meeting around Beijing+30."
Sai Jyothirmai Racherla, Deputy Executive Director of the Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW), stressed the importance of providing access to comprehensive sexuality education within the education ecosystem. "Every child, adolescent, and young person, regardless of who they are and where they live, deserves an opportunity to learn and develop skills that will enable them to make safe and confident choices about their lives and comprehensive sexuality education is one such life skill," said Sai.
The Asia Pacific multistakeholder dialogue on comprehensive sexuality education, organized by ARROW with UNESCO, UNICEF, UNFPA, Education International, SDG-4 Youth and Student Network, Y-PEER Asia Pacific, and partners, brought together over 160 people from civil society, youth, academia, government officials from ministries of education, and others.
The dialogue emphasized the need for investing in high-quality and inclusive pre- and in-service teacher training for comprehensive sexuality education.
Sai also highlighted the importance of teachers' well-being, saying,
"We cannot just look at a very extractive way of 'how we need to provide comprehensive sexuality education to students' irrespective of what is the state of the teachers.
Are the teachers having the right resources? Are the teachers having the right education materials? Are the teachers in the first place having proper facilities for them to be in a well-being status for them to provide comprehensive sexuality education"she added
Zuzan from Y-PEER Laos and Y-PEER Asia Pacific Centre added that youth voice echoed clearly that they need comprehensive sexuality education that is inclusive, right-spaced, and adaptable to their diverse realities.
"Teachers are not just knowledge providers but role models who can inspire values of equality, respect, and empathy in the next generation," said Zuzan.
Shiphrah Belonguel, Global Advocacy Officer of Fòs Feminista, discussed the importance of the Commission on the Status of Women(CSW) revitalization process, saying that defending and strengthening the mandate of the CSW as a robust normative platform for gender equality is crucial.
The Women's Rights Caucus (WRC) put out an advocacy brief that made three clear demands, including defending and strengthening the mandate of the CSW, ensuring that agreed conclusions remain a central and ambitious normative framework, and safeguarding civil society participation.
Dr. Pam Rajput, Professor Emeritus and Founder, Department cum Centre for Women's Studies and Development, Panjab University, India, emphasized the need to protect the gains made in terms of gender equality and human rights.
"We hope that the young leaders will take more responsibility to see to it that what we have gained at least we do not regress upon in terms of gender equality," said Dr. Rajput.
The session reaffirmed the Beijing Declaration's commitment to women's rights, emphasizing that the rights of women and girls are not separate, secondary, or negotiable - they are human rights.
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