She only felt safe enough to return when she found that the perpetrator had also left the village, and enough time had passed that it seemed clear he would not return. By then, Ma Shwe had a child, and she wanted to live with her family and raise her child in her home village. However, upon her...
Investing in women benefits women and society as a whole. At the current rate of investments however, more than 340 million women and girls will still live in extreme poverty by 2030. It has never been more urgent to advance women’s economic empowerment, as marked by the 2024 theme for...
Investing in women benefits women and society as a whole. At the current rate of investments however, more than 340 million women and girls will still live in extreme poverty by 2030. It has never been more urgent to advance women’s economic empowerment, as marked by the 2024 theme for...
Flor de María Ramos, 23, is a young farmer and single mother who lives and works in Chalatenango, El Slavador, where she has participated in UN Women economic empowerment initiatives. UN Women/Silverlightsv.com.
Investing in women is both an economic imperative and a human rights issue. It is...
[Also available in Ukrainian]
New York, 22 February – Two years of Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine has taken thousands of lives, caused untold destruction, displaced millions, traumatized a generation, torn families and communities, and devastated the economy. The total cost of...
“A business is not just about making money. It also has obligations to bridge gender gaps and empower women”, says Yuliia Zavalniuk.
Prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Zavalniuk operated a successful flower business in the village of Kolonshchyna, in Kyiv Oblast. During the early...
Upon arriving in Moldova, Evghenia was unsure of how to navigate the next steps in her life until she found the SheLeads Project, a training programme that offered 10-day courses in business and entrepreneurial skills. The courses, along with her work volunteering to teach arts and crafts...
Credit: Veronica Grech
Workers around the world look forward to payday. A paycheck may bring a sense of relief, satisfaction, or joy, but it can also represent an injustice—an expression of persistent inequalities between men and women in the workplace.
Globally, the gender pay gap stands at...
Two years ago, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine led to mass displacement within and outside the country as millions of Ukrainians left in search of safety and support. Anastasiia Pyrohova is a psychologist and the coordinator of the Women’s New Horizons project, run by the local group...
Pregnant women are seen at the Kyiv Maternity Hospital in March 2022. Photo: UN Women/Serhii Korovainyi
As of 24 February 2024, Ukrainian civilians have endured two years of war and upheaval following Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country. The conflict has touched the lives of everyone...
NEW YORK/GENEVA/ROME, 21 February 2024 – In the less than five months that followed the brutal 7 October attacks and the ensuing escalation, tens of thousands of Palestinians – mostly women and children – have been killed and injured in the Gaza Strip. More than three quarters of the population...
“Living through the war is like living through a nightmare,” said Safa Btah.
A 29-year-old mother of two, Btah was displaced from her home in Gaza City while six months pregnant with her third child.
“We were forced to flee our home, leaving behind everything we knew and loved”, she said. Btah...
Congratulations also to the other newly elected Members of the Bureau, Vice President H.E. Mr. Jonibek Ismoil Hikmat, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Tajikistan to the United Nations; Vice President H.E. Ms. Halley Christine Yapi Bah, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of...
Global perspective Human stories
A Brazilian student working on a robot in Rio de Janeiro
“Sadly, women and girls continue to face systemic barriers and biases that prevent them from pursuing careers in science,” he noted in a message for the day.
Today, women make up only a...
Science, technology, and innovation continue to radically and rapidly transform how people live, socialize, pay their bills, order food, study, and work. For women and girls across the world, these changes have brought new freedoms, new forms of access to information, and new opportunities for...
On 27 January, thousands of women and men marched in Nairobi and other major cities in Kenya calling for an end to femicide and violence against women. Protesters carried placards with messages including “We Are Human Beings”, “Say Their Names”, and “Stop Killing Us!”
Femicide cases in Kenya...
Putting survivors at the forefront of the global movement to end female genital mutilation
“More than 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone female genital mutilation. This year, nearly 4.4 million girls will be at risk of this harmful practice. This equates to more than...
“Even one mutilation is one too many,” António Guterres said in his message to mark the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), observed annually on 6 February.
The UN estimates that globally, more than 200 million women and girls have been subjected to some...
Statement by Principals of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee: We cannot abandon the people of Gaza
NEW YORK/GENEVA/ROME, 30 January 2024 – The allegations of involvement of several UNRWA staff in the heinous attacks on Israel on 7 October are horrifying. As the Secretary-General has said, any UN employee involved in acts of terror will be held accountable.
However, we must not prevent an...
More than 24,620 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip and more than 1.9 million people have been displaced, including almost 1 million women and girls. The entire population of Gaza — roughly 2.2 million people — face acute food insecurity.
Those figures and more are presented in...