UN Gender Focus

“Many girls” want to “raise their voice”: Afghan radio journalist

Radio Sana is the only radio station run by women in the Northern City of Pul-e-Khumri in Afghanistan. Meena Mostayed is the head of the radio station and jointly with her four other women reporters is running the hard daily job of reporting in the station. In March 2017, Shamsuddin Hamedi spoke with Ms Mostayed and one of its journalists, Sadaf Ahamdi, a member of the Afghan Women Journalists Union. Via interpreters, Ms Mostayed tells us what motivated her to open the radio station and to work in radio.

UN advocate to give voice to victims of sexual exploitation and abuse

Transforming those who have suffered sexual exploitation and abuse perpetrated by UN personnel from victims into survivors, is the goal of the first-ever official appointed to advocate on their behalf.  Jane Connors took up the post of UN Victims’ Rights Advocate in August and undertook her first field visit two months later.  She has already visited the UN’s peacekeeping operation in the Central African Republic (CAR), and this week she was in South Sudan.  They are two of the four countries wher

The International Day for the Eliminationof Violence against Women

It’s time to take collective action to end violence against women and girls for good, at every level of society across the world.

Creator of the multiple Emmy award-winning television series “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Bruce Miller, hopes his show becomes “irrelevant very quickly.”

On Wednesday, Mr. Miller took part in the UN event “UNiTE by 2030 to End Violence against Women and Girls,” insisting that women everywhere have the right to a life free of abuse.

“The Handmaid’s Tale” is set in a dystopian society in the not-too-distant future, where women are completely subjugated to men.

It’s time to take collective action to end violence against women and girls for good, at every level of society across the world.

That’s the emphatic message delivered by UN chief António Guterres on Wednesday, at an event to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

The Secretary-General said every woman and girl had the right to a life free from violence, while more than one in three, are victims of a violent act at some point in their lives.

“We will not allow ourselves to be limited":Gender Advocate Award Winner

The vision of gender in peacekeeping will change “One woman at a time.  That’s the optimistic view of the recipient of the United Nation’s Military Gender Advocate of the Year award, Major Seit-be-basto Pearl Block from South Africa, who serves as an Information Operations Officer with the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, MONUSCO.  Major Block’s outstanding work includes developing a mission-wide SMS campaign on conflict-related sexual violence reaching communities who would other

“One woman at a time,” the vision of gender in peacekeeping will change.

That’s the optimistic view of the recipient of the United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year award, Major Seitbebasto Pearl Block from South Africa, who serves as an Information Operations Officer with the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, MONUSCO.

Prevention and timely diagnosis needed to combat cancer in people under 40

There is urgent need for more adequate measures to prevent cancer among people aged 20 to 39.  The call has been made by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which is part of the World Health Organization (WHO).  Globally, there were one million new cancer cases among this age group in 2012, as well as 400,000 cancer-related deaths, according to a recent IARC report.  The majority of those affected were

Women entrepreneurs need opportunities,not handouts: UN official

When it comes to growing their businesses, women entrepreneurs are looking for opportunities, not “waiting for handouts,” according to an official with the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).  Adot Killmeyer-Oleche, chief of UNIDO’s Institute for Capacity Development, was speaking after a panel discussion on women in industry held in Bahrain this week as part of the World Entrepreneurs Investment Forum

No excuse for lack of health services: UN official

Governments are being reminded of their obligation to provide health services for their citizens, including to ensure that fewer women and babies do not die while giving birth.  That’s the message from the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Kate Gilmore, who this week participated in a dialogue at UN Headquarters in New York on how human rights, including the right to healthcare reflected in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.  I spoke to her prior to the event.