ICPD30 “Let’s Talk!” series kicks off with an intergenerational conversation on bodily autonomy

Thirty years ago at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo,  179 governments affirmed the rights of women and girls to make decisions about their lives and bodies. To make room for dialogue and spur a renewed commitment to the ICPD on its 30th anniversary, UNFPA launched the monthly “Let’s Talk!” conversation series for youth and civil-society partners to reflect on key ICPD issues. 

In the first conversation on 26 February, young people and feminists celebrated the power of inclusive social movements and progress in women and girls’ agency. The talk on bodily autonomy looked to the future and offered recommendations for policymakers and decision makers to ensure that diverse young people have a voice in decisions that affect their lives.

Looking back, feminist scholar Dr. Gita Sen lauded how far the world has come since 1994. “Violence against women and girls was barely on the agenda. Hardly anyone was speaking about [female genital mutilation] or child marriage,” she said. Dr. Sen shared lessons of how the women’s movement organized across fault lines to promote sexual and reproductive rights.

Eunice Garcia of the Youth Coalition on Sexual and Reproductive Rights spoke of young people pushing back against systemic barriers to their bodily autonomy by building bridges across movements on climate justice, peace and security, antiracism, and more. She highlighted the need to understand how systems of oppression interact and prevent young people from making decisions. “For indigenous young people, LGBTQI young people, sex workers, young people with disabilities, it was clear that we have to understand bodily autonomy from a holistic perspective,” Eunice said.

Recalling the cultural impact of the ICPD, Sarah Craven, Chief of UNFPA’s North America representation office,  encouraged young people to symbolically use the upcoming ICPD30 Global Youth Dialogue in Cotonou to build a network to move the agenda forward. Hlobisile Masinga, Chairperson of the Pink Roses Foundation, challenged policymakers and decision makers to work even more with young people at the grassroots level who are personally affected by policies made on their behalf.

This inaugural ICPD30 talk was opened by Ian McFarlane, UNFPA’s Director of Communications and Strategic Partnerships, and closed by Arthur Erken, UNFPA’s Director of Policy and Strategy. The conversation ended with the reminder that ICPD30 is about inclusive dialogue. “Progress is not made by talking to the converted,” he said. “How do we broaden the tent across movements and bring other people into this conversation?”

Watch the “Let’s Talk Bodily Autonomy” conversation here.