new CEDAW Video

[Brefugee]

The title of the clip is:

Women of the World Challenge You - A film on the importance of language, in collaboration with WoPAI

This is a lovely gentle message. Nothing to argue against, I'd think?

i would post this in chat or elsewhere but i know the whining would start.

Thanks Bref! I had seen this shared on twitter in the wee hours today and had put it in my list to watch. It is well done.

I noticed how busy that channel is now with lots of new content. So I must remember to watch them all.

it's the first time I'd seen they have a channel so i will deffo be having a look, too.

Haven't listened to it all, but as all current publicity material about CEDAW says that trans women are included, seems the importance of language maybe what this group wants, but in terms of practice is not what CEDAW is doing.

Unless someone can point me to a web link where this is stated in words by CEDAW.

Have just been to the WoPAI web site which has a transcript of the video, but it is introduced as "trying to rescue" the CEDAW convention to its original purpose.

This is another more recent article claiming that CEDAW was always trans inclusive. And attacking Reem Alsalem as though she is a disrupter rather than someone fighting to keep the true intent.

https://opiniojuris.org/2026/01/20/optional-but-unequal-why-a-sex-based-turn-and-a-new-optional-protocol-could-undermine-the-global-fight-against-gender-based-violence/

Vashti Ortego, who calls himself a ‘transfeminist’, seems mighty offended by Reem Alsalem’s insistence on centring women and girls in the struggle for women’s rights and against VAWG.

And sadly the type of person who carries more influence that someone who is unashamedly aware and unashamed to say she is a biological female.

Came across this by chance when checking to see if any news from EHRC. It was updated only recently.

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
https://humanrightstracker.com/en/un-treaty/cedaw/

It certainly doesn't want to centre sex, does it. I am a bit off RA lately since she refused to accept that sex based violence (rape and gang rape etc) happened in Israel on Oct 7th. She too has her blind spots. Nevertheless she is fighting to have sex not gender as the defining category. Vashti Ortego clearly wants to dilute women's rights not to be assaulted to include men in frocks, many of whom are sex offenders.

She refused to accept that sex based violence (rape and gang rape etc) happened in Israel on Oct 7th

And I dont know why any one repeats this nonsens. It was just concocted as a way of attacking her.

The reality is that the UN has its "rules" one of which is that they, or authorised personnel, have to conduct their own investigation on any situation before making any public statement.

But as most people know, or should know, Israel refuses to allow the UN to operate in Israel. ie the Israeli Government was, and still is, more interested in point scoring against the UN than getting (which you would think they would want) a UN report on the sexual abuse and rape on 7 October.

Since that time the voluntary researched report that Israeli feminists compiled almost immediately after the attack, was later expanded and written up (by verification etc.,) and was accepted by the UN last year.

I dont know why or how this myth about a women that most feminists respects keeps getting repeated, without anyone stopping to think why would a woman like this say anything so counter intuitive to any feminists.

We all know that in any area of conflict women (and children) are the victims of sexual violence, ie rape as a weapon of war is acknowledged by most Government's.

Who is it you know that keeps pushing this false narrative?

And what is their motive?

"We all know that in any area of conflict women (and children) are the victims of sexual violence, ie rape as a weapon of war is acknowledged by most Government's.

Who is it you know that keeps pushing this false narrative?"

Reem herself. She concludes that, as there is no independent evidence and she has not been able to conduct an investigation herself, on Oct 7th there was no sexual violence and Israel just made it all up.

It is prudent, responsible and her job to be sceptical and demand evidence.

However, she seems to have forgotten that absence of evidence is not evidence of absence and that, as you point out, "We all know that in any area of conflict women (and children) are the victims of sexual violence, ie rape as a weapon of war is acknowledged by most Government's."

And what is their motive?

Maybe there are some clues here?

Reem Alsalem
30 Oct 2025

"Reem Alsalem, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls, joins Heather Brunskell-Evans and Julian Vigo to discuss her mission as United Nations Special Rapporteur and the consequences, changing dimensions, and the greater challenges of her role."

(Discusses other issues then . . . my bolding . . .)

"Alsalem tackles the divisive issue of the alleged rapes claimed by the Israeli government and legacy media on 7 October 2023 and the incoherence of Western feminism that parrots the debunked reports while simultaneously egging on a genocide. Analysing the report by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict (SRSG-SVC), Alsalem underscores how the mandate for this report was not investigative noting that a later investigation, undertaken by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry in June 2024, issued a report that clearly states that it “has not been able to independently verify such allegations, due to a lack of access to victims, witnesses and crime sites and the obstruction of its investigations by the Israeli authorities.” Alsalem details how the lie that Israel spun regarding the alleged rapes of Israeli women on 7 October has been completely debunked by an independent body, while noting that the widespread evidence documenting Israel’s pattern of sexual violence towards Palestinian men and women has been completely ignored by Western media and governments."

(See the link to this podcast posted by Reem below)

There is also a button on the page to view the podcast transcript rather than rely on the summary above.

Mind, Reem is a fine one to talk about "incoherence":

Posts in a conversation on X that starts with Reem here:
https://x.com/UNSRVAW/status/1989253460001239222

14 Nov 2025:
https://x.com/UNSRVAW/status/1989315118358745148
"No Palestinian applauded rape in Gaza. No independent investigation found that rape took place on the 7th of October."

15 Nov 2025:
https://x.com/UNSRVAW/status/1989700790148063587
"My statement is again being deliberately misrepresented. I had recently spoken at length on the reported sexual violence, including rape on and since 7 October in this podcast interview here:"
https://savageminds.substack.com/p/reem-alsalem

(That is the link to the podcast cited above)

X posts archived:
https://ghostarchive.org/archive/e334S

Pro-Palestinian men can drive through a Jewish area of London in 2021 calling for Jewish mothers and daughters to be raped but, on Oct 7th 2023, the Palestinian men murdering people in Israel were, apparently, perfect gentlemen towards the women they slaughtered. Hard to believe - but true, according to Reem.

Finchley Road convoy antisemitism charges dropped
21st November 2022

"In the video, the words “fuck their mother, fuck their daughters and show your support for Palestine” could be heard as the cars went past the road with one of the largest Jewish community centres - JW3.

A man was also heard saying: “Rape their daughters, we have to send a message”.

It came after thousands showed their support in a Free Palestine movement, amid conflicts in Gaza and Israel."

https://www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/23139381.finchley-road-convoy-antisemitism-charges-dropped/

Reem is right about so much but on this she does seem to have a bit of a blind spot. It is without doubt that Israel did make some things up. However, it has not been proved that they lied about everything, that no women or children were subjected to sexual violence by Palestinians on Oct 7th. However unlikely that is, this is Reem's contention.

What a lot of words that in fact support what I said, which her position has been that there has not been an independent official report.

Although in fact if you do want to criticise her as she has accepted that sexual violence and rape took place is whether it can be said that (not sure of the correct wording) rape was "orchestrated", a direct instruction to the men carrying out the violence, as opposed to what happens to women in all parts of the world where there is conflict, that women are subjected to sexual violence and rape.

I am not saying she is perfect, and on other issues I would question some of her positions, but this obsession about misrepresenting her, particulary when in other areas of conflict where women have been subjected to sexual violence and rape nobody, even those so busy on promoting this line of attack on RA, dont give a hoot. Or call her out publicly?

What is your problem.

Its like all those flag wavers policing language and what is the absolute correct position on this that or the other.

And do accept, even though I feel she is entitled to do this, that quite often when this comes up she will often then use this to talk about sexual violence by Israeli troops, and this seems to send people over the deep end.

Are you this exacting of purity positions of other women in positions of influence?

I have the greatest respect for Reem Alsalem but that does not require me to view her as flawless nor to pretend that I agree with her when I do not.

It is not me who seems to have an obsession with "purity" here. I suggest you look in the mirror.

Check out for signs of cognitive dissonance while you are there.