Western graduate Ziyana Kotadia is committed to gender justice. Fourth-year international relations student Aisha Imana wants to combine her focus on gender justice and equality with her studies on colonialism. Together, they are bringing fresh perspectives to the most significant global body for promoting women’s empowerment.
The 68th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) meets in New York City from March 11 to 22. Kotadia, BA’23, and Imana have been selected to participate at the session by Young Diplomats of Canada, a group that supports young voices as vital players in the fight for gender equality.
UNCSW aims to propel gender equality by focusing on poverty alleviation, institutional strengthening, and gender-inclusive financing.
“We will be engaging in bilateral meetings to advance gender justice goals as established by our delegation, and we are learning and growing to become better feminists in every way that we know how to,” said Kotadia.
Western’s influence on gender justice advocacy
Kotadia and Imana have been inspired to advocate for gender justice during their time at Western.
“I’ve always had a feminist orientation to the world, but it was my work in student government and activism at Western that really brought me into the world of gender justice advocacy pretty early on, while I was working as vice-president, university affairs for the University Students’ Council [USC] at Western,” Kotadia said.
The Alberta native is currently completing her MPhil in multi-disciplinary gender studies at the University of Cambridge. Her extensive background, including her leadership within USC, has made a substantial difference to gender justice advocacy.
Imana, from Missisauga, Ont. integrates her focus on colonialism, gender equality, and social justice with a fellowship experience in Zanzibar, Tanzania last summer. There, she developed communication strategies for the HerStart Fellowship Program, advancing opportunities for women and girls, and produced content for various media, including the HerStory Podcast Series.
At Western, Imana has served on Social Science Students’ Council and USC’s Ethnocultural Support Services amplifying the voices of marginalized groups.
Representing Canada and Western at the UNCSW is a privilege and responsibility for Kotadia and Imana. “Ensuring that we’re centring Indigenous voices as much as we’re able to as non -Indigenous people is a priority for us and is something that isn’t always at the forefront in these international conversations,” said Kotadia.
At the UNCSW, they will be engaging in meetings with civil society organizations, federal ministers, and permanent missions to the UN, providing them with opportunities for high-level advocacy work aimed at advancing gender justice goals.
Moreover, their delegation has prepared a written report containing six key policy recommendations focused on critical issues such as the gender wage gap, income inequality, climate crisis impacts on marginalized communities, and barriers to accessing state services and public infrastructure investment, which they plan to formally submit to the UN.
Imana is committed to enhancing youth voices in gender justice conversations which emphasize the importance of collective learning and action.
“A primary goal for us is establishing how vital youth voices are to cross-border conversations on gender justice,” she said.
“It’s learning from different women’s perspectives, different regional contexts, and really gathering as a collective to figure out what are ways that we can take all this tangible knowledge that we’re gathering from different people, and also take that back into our own local communities.”
Both women also want to use this opportunity to inspire others and help create a better world.
“I really want to build a world that is livable…where equity and joy are default experiences. I would say to young people who want to get involved with gender justice: don’t be afraid to be vocal about the issues you’re passionate about. Your voice and your experiences are incredibly meaningful. You have the power to make the world a more equitable place,” said Kotadia.