Joint statement: One UN for family leave and childcare

Date: Saturday, June 1, 2019

In a joint statement, the Heads of UNICEF, UN WOMEN, UNDP and UNFPA committed to strong gender-responsive, family-friendly policies for all United Nations staff, including paid parental leave for all parents regardless of gender, including parents who adopt, foster, or have children through surrogacy or assisted reproductive technology; flexible working arrangements for parents; designated private rooms and appropriate breaks for nursing and pumping; quality and affordable childcare; and child grants for all staff.

From where I stand: “We are the solution in Brazil, not the problem”

Date: Thursday, May 23, 2019

Valdecir Nascimento has been part of the women’s rights movement in Brazil for 40 years. When asked what inspired her, she said, “being a black woman in Brazil”.

Statement by UN Women on discrimination against female athletes

Date: Sunday, May 5, 2019

UN Women expresses its strong concern that the recent ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on female athletes with naturally elevated levels of testosterone contravenes the international human rights norms and standards expressed in the United Nations Human Rights Council’s resolution of March 2019 on the ‘Elimination of Discrimination against Women and Girls in Sport’.

Strong partnerships and bold actions to stamp out child marriage and FGM

Date: Friday, March 15, 2019

On the margins of the 63rd session of the Commission on the Status of Women, a high-level side event on “Accelerating the elimination of harmful practices to reap the demographic dividend in Africa” convened Member States, civil society, youth and development partners to discuss decisive measures to eliminate child marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM) across the continent.

Youth, innovation and irreversible progress for gender equality on the agenda as UN Women Executive Director visits Denmark

Date: Wednesday, January 23, 2019

UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is in Denmark to attend the annual consultations with the Danish Government.

Six things we learned from women’s resistance in 2018

Date: Friday, December 21, 2018

As 2018 comes to a close, we’re taking a look back at stories from some of the women who rose against injustice, defied stereotypes and inspired us all.

UN Women statement: Ensuring the protection of women human rights defenders in Nicaragua

Date: Friday, December 21, 2018

UN Women expresses its concern in face of the acts of violence, intimidation and harassment against women human rights defenders and women’s organizations in Nicaragua.

The sheroes of human rights

Date: Monday, December 10, 2018

As we close out the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence on Human Rights Day (10 December), we stand in solidarity with the hundreds of thousands of women human rights defenders who are leading the fight for universal human rights and lives free from violence.

Statement: Speaking out and speaking up for fundamental rights and freedoms

Date: Friday, December 7, 2018

In a statement for Human Rights Day (10 December) Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director UN Women, says: "Let us re-affirm our commitment to a world in which human rights, and women’s rights, underpin justice, solidarity, harmony and prosperity for all".

Statement by the Executive Director: Those who defend our rights in turn need our defense

Date: Wednesday, November 28, 2018

In a statement for International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka says: "We honour today the women whose courageous efforts—and sometimes whose lives—are given in defense of the universal human rights agenda and women’s empowerment".

Land rights at last for Sulaliyyate women in Morocco

Date: Wednesday, August 29, 2018

After 10 years of advocacy, ethnic Sulaliyyate women of Morocco finally have equal land rights. On 23 July, a State-run lottery distributed some 860 plots of land equally among men and women, as part of ongoing efforts to privatize land throughout the country.

Resilient and empowered, South Sudanese refugee women find new beginnings in Uganda

Date: 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.

From where I stand: “Always rely on yourself”

Date: Monday, June 18, 2018

Maha Aasi Emm Ala’a, a Syrian refugee, came to the UN Women-run women’s centre in Jordan’s Za’atari refugee camp with severe depression after her husband passed away. She received counseling and found tailoring work through the cash-for-work programme. As refugee crises become more protracted, humanitarian assistance must take into account immediate and long-term needs of women and girls. The women’s centres in Za’atari Refugee Camp are building women’s resilience and empowering them as leaders, workers and entrepreneurs.

Press release: UN Agencies call for stronger action to achieve equal nationality rights for all

Date: Thursday, March 15, 2018

UN Women, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) called today for increased efforts to eradicate gender inequality in nationality laws, which is a key driver of statelessness.

In the words of Jaha Dukureh: “We are at a tipping point in the movement to end FGM”

Date: Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Jaha Dukureh, UN Women Regional Goodwill Ambassador for Africa, is an outspoken activist leading the movement to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and child marriage.

Statement by UN Women on the passing of Asma Jahangir of Pakistan

Date: Monday, February 12, 2018

UN Women is deeply saddened by the loss of Asma Jahangir, courageous feminist and inspirational human rights leader. We stand in solidarity with women everywhere and with all those working for a better world, for whom Asma will remain an inspiration.

From where I stand: Afro-descendent women of Colombia rise for justice

Date: Monday, January 8, 2018

Charo Mina-Rojas has worked for many years to educate grassroots Afro-descendant communities of Colombia on Law 70 of 1993, which recognizes their cultural, territorial and political rights. Following the historic peace agreement which ended the more than 50-year conflict between the Government of Colombia and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Mina-Rojas advocates for justice and equality for Colombia’s afro-descendent women.

Joint Statement - ‘Freedom from fear’: Ending violence against women

Date: Friday, December 8, 2017

In a joint statement for Human Rights Day, 10 December 2017, the Executive Directors of UNFPA and UN Women, and the Administrator of UNDP stated: On this Human Rights Day, the last day in the global campaign of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, we repeat the deep connections between freedom from fear, freedom from want and ending gender-based violence, and we say: It is time to turn the tide of violence against women and end it.  

In the words of Nongnee Kondii: “I was told that being a lesbian woman is a sin”

Date: Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Discriminatory stereotypes, cultural norms and attitudes that normalize and trivialize violence against women and girls are prevalent in every part of the world. Nongnee Kondii*, 25, from Yala, a southern border province of Thailand, never felt safe expressing her sexual orientation at home or in her community. When she experienced a traumatic sexual assault, she kept silent at first. In May 2016, after participating in a gender retreat for young people organized by Rainbow Sky Association(RSAT), an organization that works to promote the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual women, transgender and intersex persons (LGBTI) in Thailand, supported by the UN Trust Fund to end Violence against Women (managed by UN Women), Kondii decided to speak out and pursue the path of justice. With funding from the UN Trust Fund, RSAT continues to organize workshops with LGBTI individuals in Thailand to support them to combat stigma based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Rural women explore new solutions to counter customs and poverty driving FGM crisis

Date: Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Globally, at least 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone some form of female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM). Sierra Leone has one of the highest rates of FGM in the world, with nine in every 10 women and girls cut, many as young as five years old. During the Ebola crisis of 2014, a moratorium was placed on FGM as part of the emergency health measures. But now three years on, the practice has returned, even though the ban is still in place. While gender inequality, myths...