Reti Khatun is a mother who lives in Kulpala village in Chuadanga, a district in southwest Bangladesh that is extremely vulnerable to climate change and long, devastating droughts in the summer. Her husband cannot work because of a disability, so she is the breadwinner of the family as well as caregiver. She used to clean houses for a living, but people stopped calling her during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In commemoration of International Women’s Day, the Indonesian Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection, joined heads of international organizations, members of the business sector, and the Indonesian Stock Exchange rang the Bell for Gender Equality. Ring the Bell for Gender Equality is a ceremony that aims to raise awareness of the key role private sectors play in accelerating progress for gender equality.

[Press release] Rising violence and insecurity are forcing women in Myanmar to stay away from jobs and healthcare services, says a new UN survey of over 2,200 women, which signals a deterioration of development gains in the country.

Gender-based violence Rapid Response Teams in 17 communities, led by local police, and consisting of a Women’s Union Officer and a Justice Officer, Youth Union Officer or Community Leader, deliver timely and coordinated responses and protection for women and girls experiencing violence in their communities.

Women who are “most disadvantaged” need “equal participation in all relevant planning and decision-making processes,” with regards to multi-stakeholder engagement for climate action, said Saad Alfarargi, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to development. This includes in particular “women with disabilities, girls and young women, minority women, indigenous women, and members of other disempowered and marginalized groups,” he said.

The Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation (MWCPA) held a high-level public event today to mark the launch of the national consultations across Fiji to produce a whole-of-government and whole-of-community, evidence-based, measurable, inclusive and funded five-year National Action Plan (2021-2026).

Naiyapak Chaipan works for the 1300 Hotline, managed by the Thai government’s Social Assistance Centre that assists women seeking to leave abusive and violent situations. Ms. Chaipan’s work has doubled as the COVID-19 lockdown and travel restrictions have left many women confined with their abusers at home.

Women’s land rights are key to their economic independence and better decision-making power within families. In many parts of the world, research shows that lack of land rights makes women more vulnerable to gender-based violence. Dhana*, 38, is among the 218 gender-based violence survivors who have received life-saving assistance from the ‘Provision of Emergency Legal Assistance to Survivors of Gender-Based Violence in the COVID-19 Context’ project.

Innovative modern fairy tale picture books on gender equality for children were launched in Viet Nam on Tuesday, in a publishing first for the country. The books were launched by UN Women and Crabit Kidbooks. Crabit Kidbooks is to donate 20 percent of proceeds to Peace House, a safe shelter and service provider supporting women and children who are victims of domestic violence, human trafficking and sexual abuse.

Every morning at 10 a.m., Sok Sopheap sets off to run errands and pick up her two grandchildren from school in Tropang Thom village, southern Cambodia. Sopheap is in her 50’s – a stage in life when many women in her country might slow down – but like many local women, she is bearing an increasingly heavy burden as a result of climate change. Like other villages in Takeo province, Tropang Thom has been in the grip of an oscillating water crisis.

Officers from 16 countries, including, Cyprus, Ghana, India and Tajikistan received training on how to respond to sexual violence in conflict areas.

In late 2011, the Governments of Pacific countries and India as well as Barefoot College entered into a partnership with UN Women Pacific to send women from the Pacific to India to become solar engineers.