From where I stand: "Organizations share the voices of women […] but we want to put our voices into action"

Date: Monday, August 17, 2020

Nelly is a South Sudanese refugee leader in the Bidibidi settlement in Uganda. In this story, adapted from the Who Holds the Microphone Series, she discusses her engagement with the humanitarian community and emphasizes the need for resources, income-generating activities and spaces dedicated to women, where they can freely discuss their experiences and challenges.

From where I stand: “Together, we are building peace and equal rights in our territories”

Date: Monday, August 17, 2020

Johana, a trans woman, is the founder of the Johana Maturana Foundation, an organization that promotes LGBTI people’s rights in the Chocó Department of Colombia. She stresses the need for financial resources to reach local communities and that communities must shape humanitarian action.

From where I stand: “Women become migrants because they cannot find a job in their countries, so governments should think about their economic reintegration.”

Date: Friday, August 7, 2020

Alejandra Mónica Quijua Tintaya is a 34-year-old Bolivian national who packaged fruits in Santiago de Chile. She, along with other migrant workers, lost her job as cases of COVID-19 surged in Latin America. Her journey back to Bolivia illustrates the increased hardships that migrant workers are facing during the global pandemic, but also the importance women-led groups to protect their rights.

From where I stand: “I want the views of older persons included in the planning of COVID-19 recovery programmes for my community”

Date: Monday, July 13, 2020

Monica Chiwalo is 82 and mostly dependent on her children. She raised four children on her own after the death of her husband. The COVID-19 outbreak in Tanzania has devastated the livelihoods of families that rely on the informal sector and have no safety nets. Elderly women like Chiwalo are especially vulnerable to its health and economic impacts. Their voice and experience must be included in recovery efforts.

From where I stand: “Due to COVID-19 people were not going to the police”

Date: Tuesday, June 2, 2020

Simret Tesfaye is nurse at the Association for Women's Sanctuary and Development, a non-profit organization in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which manages six shelters for survivors of gender-based violence. Currently, she is working at the Transitional Shelter that opened in April 2020 with support from UN Women.

From where I stand: “Although the situation is unpredictable, we are still working to maintain peace”

Date: Thursday, May 28, 2020

Lieutenant Dr. Arya Khadka is a Nepali peacekeeper serving as a medical officer with the United Nations Mission (MINUSCA) in Bambari, Central African Republic, where prevention efforts are being implemented to deter the COVID-19 outbreak. In a recent Instagram interview with UN Peacekeeping leading up to the International Day of UN Peacekeepers, Lt. Dr. Khadka shared some of the challenges as well as what motivates her. This story has been written based on her interview.

From where I stand: “It has become impossible to meet daily needs”

Date: Friday, May 22, 2020

Esther Macharia, 37, is a single mother and the only breadwinner for herself and her daughter. When the COVID-19 crisis came to Kenya, she lost nearly her entire income as a rideshare driver in Nairobi, as people are no longer requesting rides. Her story reflects the hardship that millions of women now face, as workers with low wages and without safety nets.

From where I stand: “The COVID-19 crisis has completely changed my life”

Date: Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Red Cross employee Marijana Tosheva works tirelessly to assist the most vulnerable in North Macedonia. Amid the COVID-19 crisis, she’s been supporting the people with disabilities.

From where I stand: “Domestic workers should also be entitled to a salary during times of crisis”

Date: Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Ana Paula Soares, 27, has been her family’s breadwinner since 2017. When the COVID-19 crisis came to Timor-Leste, she lost her income as a domestic worker with no way to support her family. Her story reflects the hardship that millions of women now face, as workers in the informal economy.

From where I stand: “Stay home and stay safe—but what if home is where she feels unsafe?”

Date: Thursday, April 30, 2020

Sia Kukaewkasem is an advocate, social worker and survivor of domestic violence. For most people in Mae Sot, north of Thailand, she is a “big sister and friend” who listens and cares for others. With four billion people around the world sheltering at home, many women are trapped in isolation with abusive partners, unable to access life-saving resources and support systems.

From where I stand: “Policies and regulation can be updated day-to-day…we have to quickly and firmly handle the situation”

Date: Monday, April 20, 2020

Nicha Nitinavakarn is a police captain working in the Arrival Immigration Bureau at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, where women make up most of the workforce. Her responsibilities include passport check, entry approval and problem-solving for all arrival issues. She is one of the many women who are part of the essential workforce as four billion people around the world are under stay-home orders to curb the spread of COVID-19

From where I stand: “I want to hug my daughter and take care of my parents, but this sacrifice needs to be made to keep them and others safe”

Date: Monday, April 13, 2020

Dr. Runa Jha is the Chief Pathologist and Director at the National Public Health Laboratory in Nepal, which is linked with 277 government laboratories across the country and is the only lab authorized to conduct COVID-19 testing. Jha, along with 67 team members, is playing a crucial role in the front-line response to COVID-19.

From where I stand: “The fact that domestic violence is not a criminal offence in Kazakhstan is hurting women during COVID-19 crisis”

Date: Thursday, April 9, 2020

Dina Smailova, a well-known activist from Kazakhstan, recently spoke to UN Women about the rising reports of domestic violence since the introduction of quarantine measures to stop the spread of COVID-19. With 4 billion people around the world sheltering at home, many women are left in isolation with abusive partners, unable to access life-saving resources and support systems. In some countries, helplines have registered an increase in calls by more than 30 per cent.

From where I stand: “I am fearful for smaller countries that have limited resources during COVID-19”

Date: Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Ryancia Henry is originally from Antigua and Barbuda, she moved four months ago to Montecito, California, to take up the position of Director of Housekeeping, managing a team of 60 people, at a hotel that has now closed because of the COVID-19 outbreak. With international travel disrupted, and movement restrictions within the United States of America, Ryancia is among millions of workers in the hospitality industry considering what the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic will be on her, her staff, her family and her friends.

From where I stand: “Expanding economic opportunities of women is key to ensure safety and prosperity”

Date: Thursday, January 30, 2020

24-year-old Kursanali kyzy Begimai is the leader of a self-help group in a village on the disputed Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan border. Running a profitable agro-business and conflict-resolution initiatives, her group is now an example to other community members in the village.

From where I stand: “I didn’t let myself become a victim; I used my pain to rise.”

Date: Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Kaushilla Nepali advocates for the legal rights of Dalit women in Nepal, in particular enabling their access to justice, and regarding critical issues such as citizenship, domestic violence, and sexual violence. Committed to ending the entrenched discrimination against Dalit community on the basis of caste, Nepali started her journey with her own empowerment.

From where I stand: “If we talk more about sexual harassment in our society, we’ll change mindsets”

Date: Monday, November 18, 2019

Law graduate and Thai women’s rights activist Thararat Panya, 23, used her experience of sexual assault to drive change at the Thammasat University in Bangkok.

From where I stand: “I am now ready to create positive changes”

Date: Friday, October 18, 2019

Olena Halkanova fled her home in the city of Pervomaisk after the start of the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine. Now living on the contact line between government-controlled and non-government-controlled areas of Luhansk region, she has become a community mobilizer after UN Women-led training.

From where I stand: “My dream is to own my own garage”

Date: Monday, October 14, 2019

Christine Wambulwa, 40, is the only woman mechanic in Kakuma Town, Turkana County, Kenya. As the sole breadwinner of her family, she works to send her children to school, so they can have the education she couldn’t afford for herself.

From where I stand: “We must start by uniting the people because together we’re stronger”

Date: Friday, October 11, 2019

Natalia Slavinskaia, 42, is a community mobilizer from Komysh-Zorya, a small village in the conflict-affected Zaporizhzhia region, south-east Ukraine.