I am Generation Equality: Sohini Bhattacharya, advocate for gender norm change

Date: Monday, June 21, 2021

I am generation equality because… “I am determined to work with women and girls to help them raise their voices against discrimination and inequality and build a more gender equitable view for themselves. When people find their own voices and have the agency to talk about injustice, they become transformed human beings.

Zin Hnin Phyu’s story: A returned woman migrant’s online business in Myanmar

Date: Monday, June 21, 2021

Upon her return to Myanmar in 2019, she invested her savings of MMK 200,000 (USD 122) in her online business. “Doing business was not really in my plan while I was in Thailand,” she said. “But I knew that I am good at using phones and social media. I knew the area and some people. When I returned to Myanmar, I felt certain I could start my online shop. I am still young and can get around easily to take orders to customers, especially with my motorbike,” she said.

Ni Ni Aye’s return to Myanmar: From migrant factory worker to businesswoman

Date: Monday, June 21, 2021

After 11 years away, Aye returned to Myanmar in 2014 pregnant and with around 10 million MMK (USD 6,075) in savings. She spent most of that on a house and used 1,500,000 MMK to start her sewing business in 2015. She felt that she was at her best when sewing, and also felt confident that she had learned to be punctual, systematic and disciplined. Ni Ni Aye says she dreamed of starting a clothing business back in Thailand ever since she started working in Thailand. “I remitted half of my salary to my parents and I saved the other half for my dream business.”

Keomouangluang’s journey: From migrant domestic worker to mushroom entrepreneur

Date: Monday, June 21, 2021

After working in Thailand for almost two years as a migrant domestic worker, Douang Keomouangluang returned to her home in Nong Kae Village in the southern province of Salavan in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) in September 2020. She wanted to be with her husband and parents during the COVID-19 pandemic, but admits she had no clear plan of what to do for work. “I did not prepare to set up a business,” she said. “I just wanted to be back home. With the THB 50,000 (USD 1,500) that I saved, I built a house and bought appliances and a motorbike.”

Press Release: Pacific Women's Organisations continue COVID-19 response to support communities

Date: Monday, June 21, 2021

Suva, Fiji  - Pacific communities continue to benefit from the work of four women’s organisations in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on women.  The four organisations, Vanuatu Business Resilience Committee (VBRC), Medical Services Pacific (MSP) in Fiji, Palau Red Cross (PRC) and Malaita Provincial Council of Women (MPCW) from Solomon Islands are supported by the Women’s Peace...

I am Generation Equality: Maheshi Ramasamy, scientist, Principal Investigator for the Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine trials

Date: Friday, June 18, 2021

As a child, growing up in Sri Lanka, I was lucky to have many female role models to look up to. My grandmother was a school principal, my mother was a scientist and my aunt was a physician. I always wanted to be a doctor and have also always loved problem solving and understanding how things work. That is what led me to develop a career in clinical research.

Supported by UN Women, police forces becoming more responsive to female survivors of violence

Date: Friday, June 18, 2021

In the past 18 months, by trapping women with their abusers, COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns have worsened the already-widespread violence against women while preventing many of them from getting help. But even those who do manage to contact the police come up against another long-standing challenge: a culture and system that treats the survivor as a big part of the problem.

In the words of: “I feel proud to share my knowledge with refugee communities”

Date: Friday, June 18, 2021

Afruza Begum, 32, is a Rohingya refugee and a survivor of the conflict in Myanmar. She fled to Bangladesh with her family in 2017. As a Community Outreach Volunteer in Cox’s Bazar, she is part of a UN Women programme that mobilizes and empowers refugee women to lead and participate in decision-making processes in refugee camps.

Why do we need feminism in Sri Lanka?

Date: Friday, June 18, 2021

A conversation with H.E. Eric Lavertu Ambassador of France to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Mohammad Naciri, UN Women, Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, and Ramaaya Salgado, Country Focal Point, UN Women Sri Lanka.

Security forces attend workshop to boost women’s role in building lasting peace in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao

Date: Thursday, June 17, 2021

Government security forces attended a workshop alongside Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) members this month, to explore how best to support women’s participation in conflict resolution and peace building in the newly autonomous region of Bangsamoro. The event was held 6-8 April 2021 in General Santos City, located on the island of Mindanao in southern Philippines.