BWANEWS INBRIEF

United Nations Commission on the Status of Women 56th Session By Patsy Davis The Commission on the Status of

Women, a commission of the United Nations (UN) Economic and Social Council, held its 56th

annual session (CWS56) from

February 27 – March 2, 2012, at the UN facilities in New York City. This year’s priority theme was, “The empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, development and current challenges.” This theme is one that is particularly important in light of the many challenges facing rural women, including the current combined effects of worldwide economic instability and climate change, both of which exacerbate the poverty that most rural women already experience. The BWA Women’s Department

(BWA WD) had an international team of 16 women that participated in the first week and beginning of the second week of sessions. Each morning the team participated in a morning devotion that was led by different faith groups and was held at the Church Center UN. After the devotion, a debriefing session was held after which the team members participated either in a side event or parallel event. The side events were led by countries that have a Permanent Mission to the UN. In these sessions participants heard testimonies of rural women, as well as the good practices that have been put into action. The parallel events were led by different faith groups and were held at the

Baptist women leaders at the UN, from left, Patsy Davis, executive director, BWA WD; Motunrayo Adegbilero, president, BWUA; Linda Weber, president, NABWU; Shirley Fair, treasurer, NABWU; and Judy Dozois, VP Prayer, NABWU

Church Center UN. All those who attended these sessions had an opportunity to come together and discuss mutual concerns and develop strategies to overcome the challenges that still face rural women. Although the theme of CSW56 did

not specifically mention violence against women, it cannot be ignored that it exists. It has been established that poverty and inadequate living conditions do much to heighten the problem of violence against

women. Many of the parallel sessions dealt with violence against women. Several of the BWA WD team members discussed the possibility of presenting two parallel events next year. One of the things that the team members saw was the need to have a more evangelical response to the issue of violence against women. The planning of the sessions will take place in Chile during the BWA Annual Gathering.

specific area of ministry as part of their training. There are two other Baptist seminaries in Cuba. The Baptist Convention of Eastern

Cuba, the largest of the four conventions with more than 30,000 members, has a seminary in the east in Santiago, while the Free Will Baptist Convention of Cuba’s

seminary is in Pinar del Rio at the western tip of the island. The four Baptist groups will continue their annual 50 days of prayer in 2012, an initiative that began several years ago to forge unity among Baptists in Cuba as part of their “Cuba for Christ” campaign. Other Protestant church bodies have been invited to join the prayer vigil with their Baptist brothers and sisters. There are 52 church bodies and denominations in Cuba. The 50 days of prayer traditionally runs from Easter Sunday until Pentecost Sunday.

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