Women

As schools slowly reopen in parts of Afghanistan, it is important to ensure that both girls and boys are able to return safely.
© UNICEF

Afghanistan: ‘Palpable’ fear of ‘brutal and systemic repression’ of women grows

21 September 2021
Asia Pacific

Since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan last month, they have made some commitments to uphold human rights. However, their subsequent actions have “sadly contradicted” those promises, the UN rights chief told a side event of the General Assembly on Tuesday.

Indigenous women’s groups perform a Tlalmanalli opening ceremony to kick off the Generation Equality Forum in Mexico.
UN Women/Dzilam Mendez

UN Women’s feminist roadmap tackles triple crises of jobs, care and climate 

16 September 2021
Global

The UN’s gender equality and empowerment organization on Thursday published a flagship feminist plan for economic recovery and transformation, which aims to learn the lessons of the past, and seize the opportunity to handle COVID-related crises better.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Sima Sami Bahous of Jordan as Executive Director of UN-Women.
UN Photo/Manuel Elías

Gender equality ‘champion’ Sima Sami Bahous to lead UN Women 

13 September 2021
Global

Secretary-General António Guterres described Sima Sami Bahous of Jordan, as “a champion for women and girls”, announcing on Monday her appointment to lead the UN’s gender equality and empowerment entity, UN Women. 

A family runs across a dusty street in Herat, Afghanistan. (file)
UNAMA/Fraidoon Poya

Afghanistan: UN chief following escalation in fighting ‘with deep concern’

12 August 2021
Asia Pacific

With Taliban fighters continuing to gain ground in Afghanistan, the UN Secretary-General is following events “with deep concern” said the UN Spokesperson on Thursday, including the battle for Herat and Kandahar, the country’s second and third largest cities.

 

Elisabeth, now 16 years old, has been reunited with her family in Burundi.
© IOM 2021/Lauriane Wolfe

First Person: ‘I’m not old enough to be a woman’ says trafficked teen

29 July 2021
Africa

A teenage girl who was sold for sex for the price of a few beers as a twelve-year-old, has told the United Nations how she was trafficked between Burundi and Tanzania in East Africa.

A garment worker inspects clothing in a factory in Nicaragua.
ILO Photo/Marcel Crozet

Fewer women than men will regain work during COVID-19 recovery: ILO 

19 July 2021
Global

Fewer women will regain jobs lost to the COVID-19 pandemic during the recovery period, than men, according to a new study released on Monday by the UN’s labour agency.  

People protest in a demonstration for women's rights in Ecuador.
UN Women/Johis Alarcón

Women must no longer be ‘squeezed into a small corner’, landmark Forum declares 

30 June 2021
Global

In a bid to put gender equality at the heart of COVID recovery, UN Women kicked off a three-day “landmark effort” in Paris on Wednesday, aiming to lay out ambitious investments and policies to bridge the chasm between where women stand in the world today, and where they should be, by 2030.
 

UNDP is supporting Sudanese farmers whose incomes and crop yields have been impacted by COVID-19 lockdowns.
UNDP/Ahmed Alsamani

‘Spirt of unity, partnership and collaboration’ needed to realize Sudan’s aspirations

20 May 2021
Africa

Moving from Sudan’s current fragile transition period towards stable civilian rule, requires a continued “spirt of unity, partnership and collaboration”, a senior UN official told the Security Council on Thursday.
 

Only a fifth of girls under 15 years old are literate in Afghanistan.
© UNICEF/Frank Dejo

Afghanistan: Top UN officials strongly condemn ‘heinous’ attack on girls school 

12 May 2021
Asia Pacific

Two senior UN officials on Wednesday, condemned in the strongest terms, a terrorist attack targeting girls and their families outside a high school in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. 

An entrepreneur and her daughter run a small business in Bamyan, Afghanistan.
UN Women/Nangyalai Tanai

 UN commission pushes equality for women in decision-making

27 March 2021
Global

At the closing of the UN women’s commission, world leaders issued a strong pledge for the elimination of violence against women along with their full and effective participation in public life, including in decision-making.