Stories
- Gender equality and women’s empowerment (16)
- Economic empowerment (14)
- Leadership and political participation (11)
- Executive Director (9)
- Employment (7)
- Ending violence against women and girls (7)
- Men and boys (masculinity) (5)
- Government contributors (4)
- Anti-violence interventions (4)
- Rural women (4)
- Peace and security (4)
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From where I stand: “Equality between men and women…is a moral imperative”
Friday, July 12, 2019
Taher Sellami, a young entrepreneur and business student, is striving to use innovative technologies to drive social change in Tunisia and worldwide.
From where I stand: “I work in construction, I am living my dream!”
Thursday, May 9, 2019
Maira Assane Amade, 23, fulfilled her lifelong dream of working in construction after participating in the Rapariga Biz Joint Programme implemented by UN Women, UNFPA, UNESCO and UNICEF.
A place of peace, reconciliation and growth
Tuesday, May 7, 2019
In 2014, one year after the region was freed from the extremists, a small hut was built in Gao, surrounded by larger buildings and barely visible from the street. Anyone who passes through the driveway and enters the hut in the middle of the dusty courtyard has a specific goal: Dialogue, exchange and cohesion. Welcome to the Women Peace Hut.
The Tunis Forum on gender equality
Friday, April 12, 2019
Women, youth, champions of gender equality from all corners of the world gather in Tunis to take stock of progress made on women’s rights, leading up to the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. This will be the first of many global meetings leading up to the year 2020, calling for actions to accelerate progress and protect the hard-won gains of women’s rights.
A teacher in Moldova learns to lead, changing her community for the better and inspiring others
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
A local teacher in a remote village in Moldova helped improve the lives of her students and now has her sights set on local leadership, after participating in the UN Women supported "INSPIR-O!" (Inspire it) Mentorship Programme.
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
Across eastern Europe social support services have not been very inclusive, whether it be because of armed conflict, local decision-making or simply dangerous, unsafe neighborhoods. Now, people are calling for better infrastructure, safer cities and urban planning.
From where I stand: “I never gave up and I am learning everyday”
Monday, March 4, 2019
Globally, 1.7 billion adults remain unbanked, and 56 per cent of them are women, according to latest data from The World Bank. The trend continues in Africa, where up to 95 million unbanked adults receive cash payments for agricultural products, and 65 million save using semiformal methods. Lack of access to banking services and financial skills such as savings, budgeting and debt management, means women who are already poor, have little or no means to invest, retire or build a cushion against emergencies. In humanitarian crisis, these challenges are compounded. Esperance Mutegwaraba, 61, fled the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2012 along with 30,000 refugees.
Take five with Tchonko Becky Bissong: “With my voice, I can impact the masses”
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
Tchonko Becky Bissong is a popular radio presenter with CRTV, Cameroon’s public radio and television broadcasting company. Over 20,000 Cameroonians tune in to her weekly programme ‘Calling the women’. In a recent conversation with UN Women, Ms. Tchonko talked about the situation of women’s political participation in Cameroon and the role that media can play in raising awareness. In the 2018 elections the representation of women in the Senate increased from 20 per cent to 26 per cent.
Opening new opportunities for tech careers for women in Moldova
Thursday, February 7, 2019
More than 1,000 women are learning new skills through an online platform supported by the Moldovan Association of ICT Companies and UN Women, with the financial support of the Government of Sweden. The programme trains young women for ICT careers as front-end developers and technology creators.
Women’s groups to monitor the local elections in Turkey from gender equality perspective
Thursday, January 31, 2019
Ahead of the local elections in Turkey to be held in March, UN Women and the Women’s Coalition brought together more than 100 women from across the country to discuss the monitoring of the elections.
From where I stand: “I was the first woman to apply for a firefighter’s job”
Tuesday, January 15, 2019
Merve Erbay, 21, became the first woman firefighter in the Turkish Parliament after outperforming competitors in the firefighting exam.
Sweden partners with UN Women to improve gender data
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
Today, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), a long-standing partner of UN Women, announced a significant contribution of 80 million Krona (USD 8.8 million) to UN Women’s Flagship Programme on gender data, Making Every Woman and Girl Count.
Thursday, November 15, 2018
Award-winning journalist Bettie Johnson Mbayo from Frontpage Africa took a 16-hour motorbike ride last year through Southeastern Liberia to find a 13-year-old girl who was raped by a law-maker. Despite receiving threats, Mbayo pursued the story relentlessly, following leads on social media and interviewing family members, neighbours, school officials and the police. Her reporting resulted in the arrest of the alleged perpetrator.
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
For Ina Grădinaru, a psychologist with a women’s centre in Moldova, her work with survivors of violence is much more than a job, it’s a social responsibility and her life mission. For the #HearMeToo campaign, she talks about her work, the persisting challenges and myths that must be broken to end the violence.
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
The Violence Against Children report in Kenya (2010) indicated that one in three Kenyan girls has experienced sexual violence before they turn 18. Wangu Kanja, a survivor of sexual violence, started a Foundation to provide much-needed support to survivors of gender-based violence in Kenya.
#HearMeToo: Afghan women, the faces of change
Friday, November 9, 2018
The Women’s Protection Centre is part of a network of 11 shelters in nine provinces across Afghanistan. They have offered refuge to more than 1,600 survivors of gender-based violence this year, along with a combination of medical, legal and psychosocial services, and skills training so that women can restart their lives. Family Guidance Centres in five provinces offer mediation support, where lawyers, social workers and others engage with women who remain in their communities without facing any imminent risks.
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
Justice Anisa Rasooli was recently appointed as the first woman to sit on the Supreme Court of Afghanistan. She has been a powerful advocate for bringing more women into judicial positions, including as a leader of the Afghan Women Judges Association.
In the words of Halima Askari: “Our victory is our unity”
Friday, November 2, 2018
Halima Askari became the first woman head of the Provincial Council in Afghanistan’s conservative Wardak province in 2017. She is part of a new generation of women leaders who, little by little, are pushing for the transformation of governance. She ran for national Parliament this year and is awaiting the results. Regardless of the election results, Askari is determined to continue serving her community and advocating for girls’ and women’s education. Having attended UN Women-supported leadership and management training, in a recent interview she talked about what it means to be a woman in politics in Afghanistan. UN Women’s political participation programme in Afghanistan was made possible by funding from the governments of Iceland, Sweden and Norway.
UN Women Executive Director visits Sweden and Switzerland
Friday, October 26, 2018
UN Women Executive Director, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, is visiting Sweden and Switzerland from 27 October to 1 November, to meet with development partners and allies working to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment at home and abroad.
In the words of Faidah Suleiman: “Through my job I’m making changes in my family and in the society”
Thursday, October 18, 2018
Faidah Suleiman is the Superintendent of Police, Gender and Children Desk in Tanzania. With 20 years of police experience, she has been part of the Gender Desk since it was established in 2009. In 2014, UN Women partnered with the Gender and Children Desks to improve the quality of services provided.