Editor picks from conversations on women & technology @ #CSW 55, Day 4&5 - Feb 25/26

Katerina F. picks from the most interesting conversations on Twitter concerning women & rights & technology during the fourth and fifths day of the 55th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), taking place in New York. You can follow our tweets on section J of the Beijing Platform for Action and women's communication rights under the hashtags: #csw #genderit (or #genderitES for Spanish).

#UN Women

@jhybe Bachelet speaking at womens learning partnership event: 'Celebrating UN Women: The Way Forward' #csw #genderit

@jhybe Bachelet: we need to close education gap between boys & grrls. Worst gap is in political participation Only 19% of govt rep r women #csw #genderit

@jhybe Bachelet: ending vaw another major priority. un women to create mechanisms. Eg working w govts to have minimum support package #csw #genderit

@jhybe Bachelet: UN women x intend to step on toes on other actors but work together w them. Eg on sexual reproduction health, migration etc #csw #genderit

@jhybe Bachelet: challenge- how to reach women who are very marginalised. Need help of womens groups. Convinced need of open dialogue #csw #genderit

@jhybe Bachelet: interested to know ideas on effectiveness of Beijing platform implementation through gender mainstreaming. #csw #genderit

@jhybe Bachelet: national gender machinery seems weakest in many countries. Need to also work with outer govt machineries like finance #csw #genderit

@jhybe Check out Oxfam Novib survey on what women want UN women to focus on http://bit.ly/gCxvxl. #csw #genderit

@jhybe India: not enough to just add more women to failed structures that have been led by men #csw #genderit

@jhybe India: need UN to be a political voice as a tipping point, for transformation, x just for women but for all humanity #csw #genderit

@jhybe Nigeria: how can womens groups help UN women do the work its asking us to do? #csw #genderit

@jhybe Nigeria: we sign all the resolutions but we cant implement them. Is this a tactic of placating us? Constitution blockages #csw #genderit

@jhybe Nigeria: look to UN womens leadership to bring in true meaning of gender mainstreaming, feminist reinterpretation of resolutions #csw #genderit

#CEDAW

@jhybe When will USA finally ratify CEDAW? #csw #genderit

@jhybe Lol. Lina: CEDAW is still science fiction to US govt. Esp since Saudi has signed it. #csw #genderit

#women's rights in the Arab world

@jhybe Speaker from Bahrain assoc of women congratulates all of us for setting up of UN women to claps of all :) #csw #genderit

@jhybe Bahrain: according to freedom house study on womens rights in MENA region, status of women worst in world #csw #genderit

@jhybe Bahrain: challenges faced by women in gulf region. 2 types of stereotypes, by women themselves as 2nd class citizen (cont) #csw #genderit

@jhybe Bahrain: 2nd stereotype by international community on gulf women as wealthy & ok & so no issues #csw #genderit

@jhybe BWA: Bahrain women assoc (acronym used in following tweets) #csw #genderit

@jhybe BWA: triangle of womens oppression-they are human initiated and unaffected by religion - emphasized #csw #genderit

@jhybe BWA: red cards against women: womens voice is unlawful. Women are defect in mind & religion. Nation never succeed if led by women #csw

@jhybe BWA: the only way to challenge these myths is go back to Quran #csw #genderit

#status of women in Afghanistan

@jhybe Sakinah yakubi from afghanistan next #csw #genderit

@jhybe Afgh: challenges faced by women in afgh-violence, lack of education & econ empowerment & health service #csw #genderit

@jhybe Afgh: security is THE major challenge faced by women in afgh. A daily obstacle #csw #genderit

#internet & women's empowerment

@jhybe Yeah! Malliki: the most significant in my life recently is the internet. Women dont pay enough attention to this. #csw #genderit

@jhybe Just asked: how about internet governance forum as a viable model for open, transparent & participatory policy debate process? #csw #genderit

@jhybe Challenges to use of internet in gulf region: access, language, skills. Women need to engage in this #csw #genderit

#sexual rights

@jhybe Question from floor: where is sexual & reproductive rights in womens rights agenda? There seems to be a gap. #csw #genderit

@esmex do not remember who tweeted http://bit.ly/fVVkDO but amazing interview J. Yee. Check out Sexual Health Education and Pleasure project! #genderit

#gender in media

@esmex RT @woman_kind @unfoundation: 300 million fewer #women than men own & access mobile phones in development world http://acyclovir/gX4 #genderit

@esmex RT @ShapingYouth "If they see it, they can be it." Geena Davis on #gender invisibility in #media & #STEM #UNWomen #unwomen #genderit

#women who tech

esmex Harassment & unfair treatment of women in IT http://bit.ly/gx8JWF #unwomen #genderit #takebackthetech #csw55

#VAW&economic abuse

@jhybe Speaker: Each domestic violence homicide cost up to £1million to police & judiciary #csw #genderit

@jhybe Speaker: important to have training to women who face violence on how to manage their finances as survival strategy #csw #genderit

@jhybe Financial abuse: prevent/interfere w education/employment; control access to $ & resources; refuse to contribute (cont) #csw #genderit

@jhybe Financial abuse: generate econ & other costs, eg loans #csw #genderit

@jhybe How about financial abuse that takes place through identity theft? Stealing passwords & $ from bank accounts? #csw #genderit

@jhybe In all cases, a form of control. Women wont be able to leave abuser. #csw #genderit

@jhybe Women in abusive situation face difficulty when turning to banks for help (sharp 2008) #csw #genderit

@jhybe Problems with banks for women in violent sitn include no address, revealing ID #csw #genderit

#vaw&ICTs

@esmex In same way, movies and media that do not NORMALISE violence against women and solutions for VAW is vital! #genderit

@jhybe Heartbeat survey: 42.3% say ok to read partner's sms without asking. 30% say ok to know where boyfriend/girlfriend is. Interesting! #csw #genderit

@jen_ct Sign the pledge! I DONT forward violence. http://www.takebackthetech.net/pledge/i-dont-forward-violence #genderit.org #csw #takebackthetech

@FlaFlak In each act of viewing and forwarding, we continue and replicate the violence http://tinyurl.com/6795qzt #genderit

# advocacy

@JudeBurger Great blog post on the how and why of advocacy at the UN Commission of Status for Women http://bit.ly/gxBGhD #genderit

@jhybe This year's #csw apparently worst for lobbying. V few NGO caucuses. #csw #genderit

@jhybe #csw outcomes doc are not legally binding but have persuasive power #csw #genderit

@jhybe Prevention of VAW was not in previous #csw outcome doc, so little $ available to fund this. At least in EU #csw #genderit

@jhybe Lessons in CEDAW lobbying at #csw: need to lobby CEDAW Committee to ask a question that's in the shadow report #csw #genderit