WCC NEWS: Asian women’s conference opens with reaffirmation of gender equality

The Asian Ecumenical Women’s Conference opened with a reaffirmation that gender equality is a shared moral and social responsibility. Asian Ecumenical Women's Conference Photo: CCA 12 November 2025 Organised by the Christian Conference of Asia under the theme “Towards Upholding the Dignity and Rights of Women in Asia,” the conference began at Payap University in Chiang Mai with the participation of 80 women representatives from across Asia, including from churches, national ecumenical organisations, church leaders, and theologians. Christian Conference of Asia general secretary Dr Mathews George Chunakara stressed that when women’s rights are violated, human dignity of all is diminished. “Advancing democracy and human rights is essential to unlocking the potential of women and girls in the twenty-first century, yet the world is witnessing a worrying trend of growing threats to democratic rights and freedoms,” he said. Touching on the impact of digital transformation, Chunakara cautioned that while the world is now more technologically advanced and interconnected than ever, technology has also deepened inequality, revealing a stark digital gender divide. “Technological innovations have created new opportunities for women and girls, but they have also introduced new forms of harm, including online safety risks, and gender bias in artificial intelligence,” he said.  Vernie Yocogan-Diano, a member of the Episcopal Church in the Philippines and a human rights defender, delivered the thematic address. Yocogan-Diano described how women’s dignity in Asia continues to be eroded through displacement from land and resources, starvation wages, and shrinking democratic spaces under authoritarian and militarised regimes. “These ‘situations of hell’ persist because their structural causes have become more pervasive. The unholy trinity of globalisation, militarism, and fundamentalisms, continues to reinforce and perpetuate patriarchy, driving a neoliberal economic system that lies at the root of the stagnation of women’s rights and the erosion of women’s dignity,” she stated. Ensuring gender equality is a shared moral and social responsibility, says CCA General Secretary See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 356 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland