Stories
- Ending violence against women and girls (32)
- Economic empowerment (25)
- Gender equality and women’s empowerment (25)
- Peace and security (18)
- Humanitarian action (15)
- Executive Director (14)
- Leadership and political participation (13)
- Beijing Platform for Action (12)
- Crisis response and recovery (10)
- COVID-19 (10)
- Gender, culture and society (9)
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Make this the century of women’s equality: UN chief
Wednesday, March 4, 2020
Speaking to faculty and students at The New School, a university in New York City, the UN chief declared himself a proud feminist and called for men everywhere to support women’s rights. UN Photo/Mark Garten UN Secretary-General António Guterres explains his commitment to gender equality at The New School in New York. 27 February 2020 Women The 21st century must be the century of women’s equality, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Thursday , in a call to transform the world by ensuring equal participation...
Statement for International Women’s Day by Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
Tuesday, March 3, 2020
In her statement for International Women's Day (8 March), UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka calls 2020 the year for gender equality and calls on everyone to tackle the persistent barriers against gender equality.
Monday, March 2, 2020
In light of the current outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the UN Secretary-General has suggested to the Chair of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) that Member States consider amending the format and conduct of the session. Options could include holding a scaled-down, shortened session with the participation of New York-based delegations only, or postponing the session to a later date.
Press release: Safety of women and girls in public spaces is in focus at UN Women-led global forum
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
Starting today, more than 200 leaders and experts from over 20 countries are meeting in Rabat, Morocco February 26- 28, 2020, to focus on strategic and effective approaches to make public spaces safe and empowering for women and girls. The city of Rabat and UN Women are co-hosting the Fifth Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces Global Leaders’ Forum at the Sofitel Hotel. The Forum takes place in the year where the visionary Beijing Platform for Action turns 25.
Tuesday, February 25, 2020
In late 2018 and early 2019 UN Women interviewed 75 of the women who ran for Lebanon’s 2018 Parliamentary election; with the majority of the women in the 2018 elections standing as independents or part of civil society coalitions, 89% stated that their first priority in office would have been to push forward reform on women’s rights, with youth rights and corruption issues coming tied as second and third.
I am Generation Equality: Saif Dabbas, HeForShe and youth activist
Monday, February 24, 2020
Saif Dabbas, 19, is a member of the HeForShe campaign in Jordan, a solidarity movement for the advancement of gender equality led by UN Women. Dabbas has been a feminist advocate since age 14 and believes youth should be at the forefront of the gender equality movement.
Friday, February 21, 2020
Maryam Dhaini lives in South Lebanon, a Governorate in need of more jobs, especially for women, and where the unemployment rate is 5 per cent (according to Lebanon’s National Investment Promotion Agency). At 34, this mother and social sciences student has earned more independence after joining her village’s women cooperative, supported by the Lebanon Family Planning Association for Development & Family Empowerment, a UN Women Fund for Gender Equality grantee.
Women’s Participation in Entrepreneurship is necessary to world peace
Sunday, February 16, 2020
By Salam Al-Nukta (Syria). Member of the Gender Innovation Agora and the Beijing+25 Youth Task Force Although the world has been witnessing progressive actions in reforming peace and economic prosperity, the gender gap in the participation of women in the economy remains huge and doesn’t respond fast enough to the ambitious aspirations put forward in 1995 by 189 countries at the United Nations World Fourth Conference in Beijing.
Press release: Joint-UN WOMEN and CARE Open Day
Monday, February 10, 2020
Beirut, February 7, 2020 – UN Women in partnership with CARE International hosted today an Open Day in Akkar, at the Bebnin Municipal playground. The event featured several activities undertaken in the context of the project, “Strengthening the Economic Empowerment and Protection of Women and Girls Lebanon”, funded by the Governments of Japan, Norway and Finland, in addition to Ford Foundation and implemented by CARE International, in coordination with the Ministry of Social...
Call centre training boosts self-confidence and nets women jobs
Saturday, February 8, 2020
Safa al-Afeer and Raghad Khaled dreamed of becoming successful career women after graduating from university, but their paths to employment didn’t go quite as planned. Al-Afeer and Khaled had almost lost hope of finding work, everything changed when they enrolled in a Call Centre and Customer Service Training provided by Education for Employment (EFE-Jordan), in partnership with UN Women.
Thursday, February 6, 2020
On this International Day of Women and Girls in Science, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka calls on everyone to harness the power of innovation and technology as drivers of change, and work together to empower all women and girls across the science fields.
Thursday, February 6, 2020
There is no greater tragedy that can befall any society than the loss of its children, and even more so when their lives are taken through senseless, unnecessary and cruel acts. Just one week ago, people across the Arab States region were shocked and dismayed to learn of the death of 12 year-old Nada in Assiut Governorate, Egypt, while undergoing the outlawed practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) at a private clinic.
Wednesday, February 5, 2020
The Bahrain Supreme Council for Women held the awards ceremony for the sixth round of the HRH Princess Sabeeka Bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa National Award for Women’s Advancement under the patronage and in the presence of Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka Bint Ibrahim Al-Khalifa, wife of His Majesty the King of Bahrain, First Lady, and President of the Supreme Council for Women. The event was held at Isa Cultural Center in the presence of senior national authorities including HE Hala Al-Ansari, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Women, and United Nations officials and representatives of Bahrain’s civil society and private sector.
Thursday, January 30, 2020
The UN Women Regional Office for the Arab States and the World Scout Bureau Arab Support Centre in Cairo signed a memorandum of understanding to promote gender equality and contribute to the development of young people from the region in achieving their full physical, intellectual, emotional, social potentials as individuals, as responsible citizens and as members of their national and regional communities.
From Where I Stand: “I have the right to write my own future”
Thursday, January 30, 2020
Farah Al Rahiyel, 23, from Daraa, Syria, found herself overcoming hurdles of war and displacement in the pursuit to complete her education. Today, she is standing up for her right to education through the support and inspiration she took from the sessions on legal awareness and women’s rights organized by the Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD) in partnership with UN Women, and with the generous support of the European Union Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian crisis (Madad) and the Governments of France and Japan.
Yemeni women’s organizations learn from and share experiences with peers in the region
Wednesday, January 29, 2020
Yemen, the poorest country in the Arab region, is experiencing a complex war and humanitarian crisis. The conflict has added layers of vulnerability for women and girls and exacerbated existing gender inequalities in the country. In 2019, Yemen was ranked second lowest (151st out 152 countries) for women’s political empowerment at the national level, and also low in other gender indexes, such as economic participation, educational attainment, and health and survival. Yemeni women have been able to lead in social leadership by acting as first responders and informal peacemakers at the local level and providing representation to women in front of male leaders, but they have not been able to participate in political leadership due in part to inaccurate notions that women are emotionally weak and incapable of undertaking formal decision-making roles in society.
Press release: National Launch of the Progress of the World's Women report in Morocco
Friday, January 17, 2020
According to the thematic report of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment Women entitled " Progress of the World’s Women 2019-2020: Families in a Changing World", women's rights have progressed over the past decades as families around the world have become safe haven for love and solidarity, however, they still constitute a place where some fundamental human rights violations occur and where inequality between the gender continues to take place. This June 2019 report reviews how transformations within the family affect women's rights and reveal that most countries can develop family-friendly policies.
In lead up to Generation Equality Forum, Action Coalition themes announced
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
Today, UN Women, together with feminists across the world, and the Governments of Mexico and France, announced the Action Coalition themes for the Generation Equality Forum to be held in Mexico City and Paris this year.
Sunday, January 12, 2020
Libyan women have been at the frontlines of advocating for women’s rights and against extremism in Libya. Their wide participation in the popular uprising that toppled the Gaddafi government led many to believe that the revolution would bring more empowerment and equality for women. Instead, Libyan women have faced growing restrictions on their freedom of movement, everyday violence and policing in public spaces.
Standing by Roaa to Obtain Justice for her Daughter
Thursday, December 19, 2019
Roaa Abdul Sattar in Mosul, Iraq. Photo: Courtesy of Tajdid. Roaa Abdul Sattar, 54, lost her husband to Iraq’s sectarian war in 2011. This forced her and her daughter, Nour, to leave Baghdad and take refuge in the city of Mosul. But the safety they found there was short-lived. In 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) took over Mosul, with devestating consequences for its residents. Upon arriving in the city, ISIL arrested many of its residents. Roaa and her...