Has the Political Declaration Taken Real Steps Forward?
Why Young Women’s Voices Still Go Unheard After 30 Years
Reading time: 3 min
🖊️Francesca Antonucci
Mar 2025
The year 2025 marks the 30th anniversary since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action. Adopted in 1995, they are considered to be the most progressive blueprint for advancing women’s rights.
To commemorate milestone anniversaries, United Nations Member States work together during the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) to produce a political declaration reaffirming their commitment to gender equality and women’s rights.
The Political Declaration carries significant political weight as it represents a collective commitment by UN Member States. However, its effectiveness depends on concrete follow-up actions, national implementation strategies, and the engagement of civil society in holding governments accountable.
The 2025 Political Declaration
As reiterated in the Political Declaration, no country has yet achieved full gender equality, despite commitments made in Beijing 30 years ago and subsequent international frameworks, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aim to be achieved by 2030. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report, gender equality would be achieved in 134 years. Indeed, women face structural barriers while trying to access full education or leadership opportunities. Moreover, women worldwide still face various forms of violence—including sexual violence which is often used as a form of submission and terror—as well as multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination.
The United Nations has acknowledged the need to intensify global action toward achieving gender equality through stronger national policies and global cooperation, by addressing economic inequality and ensuring fair distribution of development gains, and strengthening the role of women and girls as agents of change in decision-making processes.
“Women’s rights are human rights and human rights are women’s rights.”
Hillary Rodham Clinton during her 1995 speech
Moreover, the Platform for Action has identified 12 critical areas of concern, which are (i) Women and poverty; (ii) Education and training of women; (iii) Women and health; (iv) Violence against women; (v) Women and armed conflict; (vi) Women and the economy; (vii) Women in power and decision-making; (viii) Institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women; (ix) Human rights of women; (x) Women and the media; (xi) Women and the environment; (xii) The girl child. Member States have acknowledged that “progress […] has been slow and uneven” and that structural barriers still remain. For this reason, they commit to work on economic empowerment, education and training, gender-based violence, technology and digital space, environment and climate change, political participation, and funding and resources.
Very positively, member states have recognised young women as “leaders, peer influencers, mentors, and innovators” and the need for their “full, equal and meaningful participation and engagement in policy and decision-making processes”. This is a crucial acknowledgment, as young people—particularly young women—are at the forefront of feminist movements, climate action, and social justice advocacy worldwide. However, despite this recognition, the declaration falls short in translating these statements into concrete commitments, mechanisms, or funding to empower youth as active stakeholders. Indeed, while the document emphasizes the necessity of intergenerational dialogue, it does not outline specific strategies to institutionalize youth participation in decision-making processes. The absence of dedicated funding, youth-specific policy mechanisms, or commitments to ensuring representation of young women in national and international forums weakens the potential impact of this recognition. Without clear pathways for implementation, the reference to youth remains largely symbolic rather than actionable.
Activists from the Bangladesh NGO Delegation
©Stephenie Hollyman
To move beyond rhetoric and ensure meaningful youth participation in gender equality efforts, future commitments should open the doors to youth representation, which even though they have been opened, they still remain closed for some, due to lack of opportunities and educational barriers. Moreover, grassroots feminist movements and organizations led by young activists should have access to more funding and it would be crucial to recognise the specific challenges of young women from marginalized backgrounds and integrate targeted solutions into gender equality strategies.
Concluding, the 2025 Political Declaration strongly reaffirms the commitment to foster the Beijing Declaration and its Platform for Action as well as all the commitments that the United Nations has been making to tackle gender equality. However, it is essential that these commitments are effectively translated into concrete actions to drive meaningful and lasting change.
