Women

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. 

Women are dying in childbirth every two hours in Yemen
YPN for UNOCHA

Motherhood on the brink in Yemen

26 March 2021
Asia Pacific

War, a humanitarian crisis, a looming famine, a health system close to collapse and the deepening impact of the COVID-19 pandemic have led to a “catastrophic situation” in which a woman dies in childbirth every two hours in Yemen, according to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).

An adolescent girl, rescued from FGM, attends class at a primary school for girls in Uganda. At the school, girls rescued from FGM or child marriage also receive counselling and psychosocial support.
UNICEF/Henry Bongyereirwe

First Person: ‘No daughter of mine will be cut’

26 March 2021
Africa

Like 95 per cent of women in her Ugandan community, Margaret Chepoteltel underwent female genital mutilation (FGM) as a child, subjecting her to lifelong health problems. Today, she is raising awareness of the dangers of FGM, as part of a UN-backed programme.

A peacekeeper from Nepal deployed to the UN mission in South Sudan, UNMISS, consults a map while on patrol.
UNMISS/Gregório Cunha

Empowering women in peace operations remains top priority, says UN peacekeeping chief

25 March 2021

Praising women’s fundamental contributions to peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts, the UN peacekeeping chief reiterated on Thursday that empowering women in the military remains a top priority, but to achieve this goal needs “all hands on deck”.

Young women in India discuss gender-based violence.
© UNICEF/Vinay Panjwani

Experts debate links between political leadership and preventing violence against women

23 March 2021
Global

Ending violence against women in politics is critical to encouraging more women to participate in public life, the President of the UN General Assembly said on Tuesday. 

Two women walk in the Taksim district of Istanbul, Turkey.
UNDP Turkey / Levent Kulu

Turkey’s withdrawal from women’s protection treaty, ‘worrying step backwards’

23 March 2021
Europe

Turkey’s decision to withdraw from an important treaty on protecting women is “a very worrying step backwards”, a group of independent UN human rights experts said on Tuesday. 

UNFPA trains health care workers and staff of one-stop centres on crisis counselling and other services.
UN Women

Women ‘systematically excluded’ from COVID response, despite being worst affected 

22 March 2021
Global

Notwithstanding that women make up 70 per cent of healthcare workers globally, and have been most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, they are also being “systematically excluded” from decision-making processes aimed at ending the pandemic, including government-run task forces around the world, according to the head of UN Women.  

UNFPA Executive Director Natalia Kanem (right) visits a mother and baby at a hospital maternity ward in Sudan’s Blue Nile state.
Sufian Abdul-Mouty/UNFPA Sudan

Face of Sudan’s democratic transition ‘is female and it is young’, says UN agency chief

21 March 2021
Africa

The head of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has called for increased international support for peace and stability in Sudan, highlighting that investing in the country’s youth and women, is investing in the nation’s future. 

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul.
UN News/Jing Zhang

UN agencies urge Turkey not to abandon international accord protecting women

21 March 2021
Europe

United Nations agencies on Saturday called on Turkey to reconsider its withdrawal from a key regional treaty on preventing violence against women, including domestic violence, and bringing the perpetrators to justice. 

An outreach campaign on the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse takes place in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
MONUSCO

Despite pandemic, UN continues to fight ‘scourge’ of sexual exploitation abuse 

19 March 2021
Global

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday, released his annual update on how the Organization is working to stamp out the “scourge” of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) through its zero-tolerance policy, which required special measures this year in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic.