women and girls

On 23 April 2020, a child washes dishes in the Maarat Misrin camp north of Idlib, Syrian Arab Republic.
© UNICEF/Omar Albam

Women and girls deserve more protection in emergencies, UN rights council hears

13 July 2020
Human Rights

The collective impact of climate change, COVID-19 and conflict mean that well over 200 million people will likely need humanitarian assistance by 2022, the UN’s deputy rights chief said on Monday.

UNFPA is expecting more cases of violence, child marriage, female genital mutilation and unintended pregnancy due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
© UNFPA Myanmar/Yenny Gamming

News in Brief 30 June 2020

30 June 2020
News in Brief
  • Hard times forecast for global job recovery in 2020, warns UN labour agency chief
  • UN’s Bachelet urges Philippines’ President not to sign new anti-terror law
  • End harmful practices against women and girls, says UN Population Fund
Audio -
4'18"
In 2016, UNFPA and UNICEF launched a global programme to tackle child marriage in twelve of the most high-prevalence countries, including Nepal.
UNFPA-UNICEF/Kiran Panday

Harmful practices rob women and girls of ‘right to reach their full potential’

30 June 2020
Women

Urgent, and accelerated action is needed to end female genital mutilation, child marriage, and other “harmful practices” and abuses carried out against women and girls, the UN sexual and reproductive health agency (UNFPA), said on Tuesday, in its latest major report on the state of the world’s population. 

Three young women wearing masks are selling medicine on the street during the COVID-19 crisis in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.
ILO/Jennifer A. Patterson

PODCAST: Rural girls bear brunt of COVID-19 pandemic

26 June 2020
The Lid is On

As the coronavirus continues to spread worldwide, in developing countries it’s rural girls who are proving to be the most vulnerable to abuse during economic collapse and lockdown.

That’s the view of a young woman activist from Uganda, Zahara, who in this special edition of our Lid is On podcast, hosted by the UN sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, joins the agency’s chief Natalia Kanem, plus leading child rights NGO, Plan International’s AB Albrectsen, in conversation to talk about the challenges facing women and girls during this unprecedented health crisis.

Music credit: Heart Chakra, by Ketsa

Audio -
Challenges are exacerbated for vulnerable women and girls in humanitarian settings, including pregnant women, during the pandemic.
© UNFPA Syria

News in Brief 20 April 2020

20 April 2020
News in Brief
  • COVID-19 response could stutter to a halt, warn aid chiefs in appeal for $350 million
  • Displaced, stateless women and girls face must get essential help, says UNCHR
  • WHO launches safe Ramadan guidelines during COVID-19
Audio -
3'55"
Married at 14 years old, the adolescent's husband abandoned her when she became pregnant.
© UNICEF/Noorani

News in Brief 6 April 2020

6 April 2020
News in Brief
  • ‘Horrifying’ surge in domestic violence must be addressed – UN chief
  • Arab region’s women and girls need protection too, say UN economic, social experts
  • COVID-19 risks are greater for people of African descent – rights experts
Audio -
3'20"
A medical team which treats obstetric fistula at Al Thawara Hospital in Yemen
©UNFPA Yemen

Yemen: UN Population Fund stresses women’s needs, amidst world’s worst humanitarian crisis 

4 March 2020
Women

Intense clashes in Yemen’s Al Hazam City, this month have caused massive displacement with an estimated 1,800 families forced to flee their homes, according to a flash update from UN humanitarian coordination office, OCHA.  

Students in computer programming class at Al Shami Girls Secondary School in the West Bank.
World Bank/Arne Hoel

Teenage girls' education, ‘an indispensable foundation’ for achieving development goals: Guterres

11 February 2020
Women

Promoting education for adolescent girls is an “indispensable foundation for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals”,  Secretary-General António Guterres declared at the launch event of the Drive for 5 education initiative at UN Headquarters on Tuesday, hosted by the Irish Mission to the United Nations.

UNFPA's Nafissatou Diop in the UN News studio.
UN News/Cristina Silveiro

Ending FGM possible in ten years with youth support: UN reproductive health official

6 February 2020
Interviews

If young people can be mobilized worldwide to help stamp out the practice of Female Genital Mutilation, it can be ended within the next ten years.

That’s according to UN reproductive health agency UNFPA’s joint programme coordinator on eliminating FGM, Nafissatou Diop, in an interview with Cristina Silveiro of UN News, just ahead of the International Day of Zero Tolerance to end FGM.

Audio -
7'44"
Namibian high school girls, who participated in the 'African Girls Can Code' programme, pay a visit to UN House in Windhoek to start their journey of putting their coding skills into action.
UN Namibia

Coding in Namibia: UN supports young women’s computing career dreams

30 January 2020
Women

Six young women from Namibia are on the path to a career in the field of information and communications technology (ICT), with the support of the UN office in the country.