Stories
Women and COVID-19: Five things governments can do now
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
UN Women Deputy Executive Director Anita Bhatia takes a look at how impacts of COVID-19 are hitting women hardest, and how governments around the world can address these issues.
COVID-19: Women front and centre
Friday, March 20, 2020
In a statement, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo Ngcuka calls on governments to recognize both the enormity of the contribution women make and the precarity of so many in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Women’s organizations advocate for localized humanitarian and crisis response
Tuesday, March 10, 2020
UN Women’s Humanitarian Action and Crisis Response Office, together with the informal Friends of Gender Group (created at a Grand Bargain meeting in Bonn in September 2016), organized three regional consultation workshops with local women’s organizations – in Addis Ababa, Amman and Jakarta – which culminated in an informal Friends of Gender Group annual meeting in December 2019.
Editorial spotlight: Climate action with women
Friday, September 13, 2019
As the United Nations prepares for the 2019 Climate Action Summit, the world we live in continues to be devastated by catastrophic storms, severe water crisis, drought, and record levels of emissions. Promoting women’s leadership in climate action is at the heart of UN Women’s efforts around the world.
Not waiting for handouts: Five stories of resilience from one of the world’s largest refugee camps
Friday, August 16, 2019
In some of the world’s largest camps, refugees and the native communities power their own economies. Students compete for admission into a better school, journalists report on daily news, entrepreneurs learn new skills and health workers deliver babies. And women are often a forgotten part of this workforce. Meet five women and girls who are doing the usual and unusual jobs that keep life going, and aspiring for more.
In the words of Madina Mousa: “I could not stay idle in the face of hardship”
Thursday, August 15, 2019
Madina Mousa fled the war in Syria with her family in 2013, and now lives in Kawergosk Refugee Camp in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. She started volunteering to help other refugees and now works as a Protection Supervisor at the Women’s Empowerment Organization (WEO), local partner organization of UN Women implementing the regional programme, “Strengthening the Resilience of Syrian Women and Girls and Host Communities in Iraq, Jordan and Turkey”, funded by the European Union under the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis (the EU MADAD Fund).
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Nimarta Khuman, a Gender and Protection Advisor, explains what it means to incorporate gender and protection in humanitarian action and why it’s important.
Thursday, March 7, 2019
Yemeni women’s rights leaders call for recognition, support and funding at the event themed, “Yemeni women’s leadership in the peace process, humanitarian space and beyond”, taking place in Geneva on 25 February, in the context of the High-Level Pledging Event for the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen. The event was organized by the Permanent Missions of Germany and the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations (UN), UN Women, CARE International, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) and Oxfam International.
In the words of Nur Omar: “I’ve healed the wounds of war and feel more confident about my future”
Monday, January 21, 2019
The SADA Women Empowerment and Solidarity Centre provides livelihood skills and psycho-social support and referral services to refugees like Nur Omar and local women in Gaziantep, Turkey. Set-up by UN Women, the Centre helps women like Nur Omar learn new skills and start a brighter future.
Women at the helm of cyclone recovery efforts in Tonga
Thursday, August 23, 2018
Tropical Cyclone Gita, one of the worst storms to pass by Tonga in the last 60 years, made landfall on 12 February 2018 as a Category 4 cyclone with winds up to 230km per hour. It impacted 79,556 people—75 per cent of the country’s population. Today, many rural Tongan women are tackling the various challenges wrought by Tropical Cyclone Gita with hard work and leadership.
Statement: The invisible wounds to women and girls damage all of us
Sunday, August 19, 2018
Joint statement by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Women Executive Director and Christos Stylianides, European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management
Expert’s take: Women refugees on the road need strong advocates to protect their rights
Friday, August 17, 2018
Iris Bjorg Kristjansdottir is a Gender and Humanitarian Specialist at the UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia based in Turkey. She has over 15 years of experience in migration policy and refugee response, working with the United Nations, the Government of Iceland, the local government in Reykjavik and with non-governmental organizations. Prior to joining UN Women, she served as a Senior Advisor on Migration for the Ministry of Justice in Iceland.
Crisis update: Restoring dignity and livelihoods after storms in the Caribbean
Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Nearly a year ago, catastrophic hurricanes devastated the Caribbean. After Hurricane Irma, almost the entire population of Barbuda, a small island in the eastern Caribbean, was driven to its twin island of Antigua. In Dominica, Hurricane Maria wiped out crops, equipment and infrastructure. In efforts to ensure that women both benefit from, and lend their expertise to the humanitarian response in the Caribbean, UN Women has been working with partners in the immediate aftermath of the storms and beyond.
Crisis update: Nearly one million Rohingya refugees are in Bangladesh now
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
UN Women is on the ground, addressing the needs of women and girl refugees arriving in Bangladesh. We’ve provided dignity kits, safe spaces and skills training, while engaging in high-level advocacy to promote women’s leadership in peacebuilding, disaster mitigation and resilience. On World Humanitarian Day, find out more about the Rohingya crisis.
Crisis update: Women of Syria, eight years into the crisis
Monday, August 13, 2018
The protracted humanitarian crisis in Syria has devastating consequences for women and girls. From food insecurity to loss of educational opportunities, lack of safe water or health services, and high rates of gender-based violence, women and girls are facing the brunt of the crisis.
Empowerment through employment for Syrian refugee women in Jordan
Friday, August 10, 2018
1.3 million refugees are currently hosted by Jordan, a country that continues to demonstrate humanitarian leadership in the Syrian refugee crisis. In 2012, UN Women opened its first Oasis— a centre for refugee women and girls to access emergency aid and specialized gender-based violence services at Za’atari refugee camp in northern Jordan. Over time, the scope and impact of the Oasis model has expanded to encompass multi-sectoral services that build women’s resilience and empowerment. Currently, UN Women operates four Oasis centres in two Jordanian camps: Za’atari and Azraq.
Women play a key role in rescue, reconstruction and resilience after volcanic eruption in Guatemala
Thursday, June 28, 2018
Thousands of Guatemalans recently lost their homes in the eruption of Volcán de Fuego, and many victims have sought refuge at temporary shelters. María Ohong, resident of El Porvenir, and a victim of the disaster herself, is working to help others who have lost their loved ones, homes and livelihoods. UN Women has supported a government-run shelter at the Escuela Mendez Montenegro in Alotenango, where women like Ohong have organized themselves to ensure equitable distribution of relief items and protection for women and girls.
One woman’s journey to find hope in Turkey, after escaping Syria
Tuesday, June 19, 2018
Menal Suleyman, at the age of thirty, is a mother of three, a widow, and a refugee from Syria. Fleeing the violence in Syria, Suleyman has found a new life, and hope, in Turkey, assisted by the “SADA Women-only Centre”, a UN Women-led project in Gaziantep.
UN Women statement for World Refugee Day 2018
Monday, June 18, 2018
On World Refugee Day, UN Women calls on the global community to ensure that the global compact on refugees provides the services, protection and resources that all refugees need, addressing the rights of all.
Resilient and empowered, South Sudanese refugee women find new beginnings in Uganda
Monday, June 18, 2018
More than one million South Sudanese refugees have crossed over the border into Uganda since 2013. Along with immediate assistance, they need long-term support, including therapy to cope with trauma and opportunities to earn a living. UN Women-supported therapy groups in one refugee settlement have helped women come together, heal and discover new beginnings.