GENDER EQUALITY

A girl washes her hands at a primary school in Zamfara State, Nigeria.
© UNICEF

First Person: ‘If I die fighting for justice, I will not have regrets’

8 March 2021
Human Rights

In Nigeria, where nearly three out of 10 Nigerian women have experienced physical violence by age 15, human rights lawyer Rashidat Mohammed fights for the rights of women, children and other vulnerable groups.

Lt. Matilda Moiwo (centre) and her colleagues prepare to collect a patient suspected of catching COVID-19.
© NaCOVERC/Alpha Daramy

Woman army officer in forefront of COVID-19 battle in Sierra Leone

8 March 2021
Health

A woman officer in Sierra Leone’s army has been put in the forefront of coordinating the national effort to combat COVID-19. Lieutenant Matilda Mattu Moiwo holds a senior position in the West African country’s National COVID-19 Emergency Response Centre, which is supported by the United Nations.

In Turkey, young women play in a soccer match to end violence against women and girls.
UN Women

FROM THE FIELD: The women fighting for Generation Equality

7 March 2021
SDGs

It will take around 130 years to reach gender parity in key areas such as politics and the boardroom, but 13 extraordinary women, who have been profiled in a UN exhibition are showing how opportunities can be created for all women and girls.

A homeless woman begs for money in the centre of London, United Kingdom
Unsplash/Tom Parsons

Women in Europe need ‘greater economic independence’ to avoid poverty: UN Special Rapporteur

6 March 2021
SDGs

Women in Europe should be given “greater economic independence” through equal pay, childcare support and the sharing of domestic duties to ensure that they do not fall into poverty, according to the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights.

Sergeant Bianca Simeon, of the Vanuatu Police maritime wing.
Ginny Stein/ OHRLLS

ISLAND VOICES: The changing face of Vanuatu’s Police Force

6 March 2021
The Lid is On

Today, women are still in the minority across Vanuatu’s Police Department, but times are changing.

In the final episode of Island Voices, Sergeant Bianca Simeon and her colleagues describe the challenges they face.

Audio -
16'11"
Women parliamentarians of the Afghan Lower House (Wolesi Jirga or “House of the People”) arrive at their inauguration ceremony in Kabul (2001).
UN Photo/Eric Kanalstein

Despite progress, gender parity in parliamentary representation still ‘far, far away’

5 March 2021
Interviews

Although women now account for more than a quarter of all parliamentarians worldwide, gender parity is still “far, far away”. 

That’s according to Zeina Hilal of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the UN partner organization working to make parliaments more representative. 

Audio -
10'55"
Many women street food vendors, like the one pictured in Bangkok, Thailand, lost their only source of income when coronavirus-related lockdowns shuttered towns and cities.
UN Women/Ploy Phutpheng

UN Development Programme urges temporary basic income for women hit hard by COVID-19 fallout

4 March 2021
Economic Development

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has called for temporary basic income for millions of the world’s poorest women, to help them cope with effects of coronavirus pandemic and alleviate the economic pressures they face every day. 

Children play on the beach in Epi island, Vanuatu, an archipelago in the western Pacific which is home to about 300,000 people.
UNICEF/Jason Chute

INTERVIEW: The women activists aiming to make history in Vanuatuan politics

3 March 2021
Women

The Republic of Vanuatu is one of the few countries in the world without a single woman representative in parliament, but two determined activists are committed to ending that situation, and ensuring that women’s voices are heard by the island nation’s most senior decision-makers.

Georgilla Worwor (left) and Anthea Arukole (right), are committed to increasing the number of women in Vanuatu's parliament.
Ginny Stein/ OHRLLS

ISLAND VOICES: ‘men and women together make good leadership’

3 March 2021
The Lid is On

Vanuatu’s national parliament doesn’t have a single woman member, but two activists are committed to changing gender politics.

In the second episode of Island Voices, Georgilla Worwor, and Anthea Arukole, a former political advisor to the Vanuatu Government, discuss their political ambitions.

Audio -
18'23"
Disha project to empower women and create livelihoods for women entrepreneurs in India.
UNDP India

First Person: Fighting for women’s financial freedom

2 March 2021
Women

Around the world, the opportunities for women to lead successful, financially secure lives are being limited by government legislation, company policies and deep-rooted misogyny. The UN is leading efforts to give women more access to digital financial tools, seen as essential to playing a full part in the global economy.