Jesmin Aktar lives in a village of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. She regularly attends UN Women's "Shanti Khana" [Multi-Purpose Women's Centre – MPWC] learning sessions and is dedicated to improving her life by pursuing a challenging job and contributing to society.

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.

COVID-19 has impacted us all, butmost of thedecisions taken are by menand the voices we hear are often male., Yet, themajority of front-line health workers are women and many of the industries directly affected by quarantines and lockdowns—such as travel, tourism and food production—have a higher concentration of women. The care burden on women—already three times more than men on a good day—has grown exponentially. UN Women is bringing the voices of women on the front lines of the pandemic. As essential workers, care givers and journalists, here are some s(h)eroes who are out there, every day, protecting and serving their communities.

From flash mobs to bicycle races, street marches to art exhibits, and even illuminating landmarks and buildings in orange light, people around the world banded together during the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence by “oranging their neighbourhoods.”