The time is now: Accelerating equality through law and inclusion at the 2025 UN High-Level Political Forum

This week, UN member states, policymakers, and civil society leaders from around the globe are gathering in New York for the 2025 United Nations High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) to assess global progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For Equality Now and our partners, it’s a vital moment to raise our voices, recommit to urgent action, and spotlight the solutions that truly advance gender equality and human rights.

As the world teeters between progress and backlash, we know that change isn’t inevitable – it’s intentional. HLPF provides a unique platform to speak directly to government officials, UN agencies, and influential policy stakeholders. It’s a rare space where civil society can not only hold leaders accountable, but also share powerful evidence and stories that show change is not just necessary – it is possible. And it’s happening.

That’s why Equality Now is co-sponsoring two powerful side events at HLPF this year, each focused on dismantling structural inequality through legal reform and inclusive, survivor-led responses to gender-based violence (GBV).

Event: Accelerating Equality in Law for Women and Girls to keep the promise of Beijing, the SDGs, and the Pact for the Future

Thursday, July 17 | 1:15 PM – 2:30 PM | UNHQ, Conference Room F 

(access requires UN Grounds pass)

Despite decades of advocacy since the Beijing Platform for Action, no country has yet achieved full legal equality for women and girls. This high-level side event – co-organized by Equality Now, UN Women, IDLO, and a coalition of states and civil society allies – will explore how entrenched legal discrimination holds back women’s rights, economic development, and peacebuilding efforts. But more importantly, it will also spotlight solutions.

Our goal is to illustrate that legal reform is not only achievable – it is transformational. The event opens with a compelling short film imagining what our future could look like if gender-discriminatory laws were eliminated. From improved economic opportunity and health outcomes to more resilient, peaceful societies, the ripple effects of legal equality benefit everyone.

Speakers from the Philippines, Kyrgyz Republic, and Spain will share their countries’ journeys toward repealing discriminatory laws. Journalist Errin Haines (The 19th) will moderate a dynamic panel of experts from the Inter-Parliamentary Union,  the World Bank’s Women, Business and Law team, and the Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights, offering practical tools and data, while civil society representatives will highlight successful campaigns and coalitions from around the world.

Legal equality is more than a principle – it’s a pathway to sustainable, inclusive development. And by helping attendees envision the world they can help build by ending sex and gender discrimination in law, we aim to turn policy ambition into political action.

Join our campaign to make equality in law a global reality

Event: Women with Disabilities Advocate for Inclusive Responses to GBV

Thursday, July 17 | 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM | Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan to the United Nations, 3o5 E. 47th St. 3rd Fl., Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, New York, NY 

(access is limited)

This vital side event centers the voices of women with disabilities from across Central Asia who are leading the charge to end gender-based violence in all its forms. Co-sponsored by Equality Now alongside ARGO (Kazakhstan), UN Women, UNFPA, and a broad coalition of regional organizations, the event highlights the lived experiences of women navigating intersecting discrimination, both in law and in daily life.

Research shows that women with disabilities are significantly more likely to experience intimate partner violence, yet often face enormous barriers to accessing justice, support services, and political attention. At this event, speakers from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan will share their expertise and lived experiences, advocating for inclusive policies that leave no one behind.

As Equality Now’s Janette Akhilgova will emphasize during her remarks, laws and institutions must be built with the needs of all women in mind. True equality means ensuring that women with disabilities are seen, heard, and protected, –  not pushed to the margins.

Join our campaign to end sexual violence around the world

Why HLPF Matters

The 2025 HLPF theme  –  “Advancing sustainable, inclusive, science- and evidence-based solutions for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals for leaving no one behind” –  could not be more timely. Around the world, we are witnessing a dangerous rollback of hard-won rights, from attacks on reproductive freedom to legal challenges against protections from child marriage and FGM/C.

But the solution lies where it always has: in collective action, rooted in law, evidence, and the lived realities of women and girls. HLPF gives us a global stage to speak truth to power – and to show decision-makers that the path to equality is visible and can be attained when progress is prioritised.

At Equality Now, we’re proud to be part of this movement. This week, and every week, we stand alongside those fighting for legal systems that uphold – not undermine – the dignity, safety, and freedom of women and girls in all their diversity.

Because the time is now. And the world we want is within reach.