On 21 October 2026, the Charles Telfaire Centre and the Curtin University Gender Research Network, with the support of Curtin University, launched the policy roadmap Towards Gender-Inclusive Futures in the Western Indian Ocean, at Voilà Hotel, Moka.
More than 30 years after the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, our region has seen significant but uneven progress towards gender equality.
Building on the proceedings of the 2025 International Symposium on Action for Women’s Rights, Equality and Empowerment, this report sets out a series of recommendations that align with four of the six priority areas of the Beijing +30 Platform for Action:
- Zero Violence;
- Freedom from Poverty;
- Climate Justice, and
- Full and Equal Decision-Making and Economic Power
Key recommendation across these four themes are:
Data that sees women
Publish intersectional, sex-disaggregated data, so that unpaid care and unpaid work show up in the numbers.
Coordination
Join up ministries, sectors and borders to handle cross-border violence and shared marine resources.
Funding
Back commitments with budget lines, gender impact assessment, monitoring, and resources institutions.
Representation
Give women a seat in every governance structure, from village disaster committees to national cabinets, as a matter of rights.
