UNAMA/Farzana Zeba Kalam/An Afghan girl snatches a moment away from her watermelon selling duties to work on her homework The draconian restrictions on women’s ability to study and work have contributed to the calamitous socio-economic situation in Afghanistan, with devastating consequences for the population, according to a UN report released on Tuesday. The Afghanistan Socio-Economic Outlook […]
Category: Gender Equality
Libya: Crimes against humanity committed since 2016 – rights probe
27 March 2023 UN-appointed independent human rights investigators on Monday said there are grounds to believe that Libyan authorities and armed militia groups have been responsible for “a wide array” of war crimes, and crimes against humanity in recent years. In the case of State security forces, human rights violations were committed to quash dissent and exploit […]
Equality drive launched by African women leaders at landmark conference
UN Women/Ryan | Brown African women leaders are playing a key role in transforming the continent. 14 February 2023 Women Women leaders called for swift, concerted action to advance gender rights at the first International Conference on Women’s Transformational Leadership, in Juba, South Sudan on Tuesday. Almost 400 women leaders from 15 African countries joined the UN-backed […]
‘We are not afraid’: Indigenous Brazilian women stand up to gender violence
21 January 2023 Women Women from Brazil’s indigenous communities are particularly vulnerable to gender-based violence, but UN-backed initiatives, and a change in the law, are encouraging them to seek protection. In Parque das Tribos, an indigenous neighbourhood in Manaus, the capital of Brazil’s Amazonas state, violence against women is not uncommon. “As a leader, I […]
International Day of the Girl Child
Our time is now—our rights, our future In 2022, we commemorate the 10th anniversary of the International Day of the Girl (IDG). In these last 10 years, there has been increased attention on issues that matter to girls amongst governments, policymakers and the general public, and more opportunities for girls to have their voices heard […]
Why is female genital cutting practised, and what is being done to eliminate it?
Today marks International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). First observed in 2012, the United Nations General Assembly declared 6 February as a day to raise awareness of, educate the public about, and encourage local and international action to end FGM. What is female genital mutilation? Female genital mutilation (FGM) is universally […]