Women’s voice in decision-making is critical for the development of all. According to the NFHS-5 data for 2019-21 nearly 88.7 per cent of currently married Indian women tend to participate in key household decisions about healthcare for themselves, or make major household purchases.

Andhika Chrisnayudhanto is Deputy for International Cooperation of the National Counter Terrorism Agency (BNPT) of Indonesia. He is the chair of the Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC), Working Group on Counter Terrorism, of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The Working Group on Counter Terrorism led in developing the ASEAN Bali Work Plan 2019-2025 on countering extremism. BNPT partnered with UN Women on the report, Gender Analysis of Violent Extremism and the Impact of COVID-19 on Peace and Security in ASEAN.

Alexandra Phelan is the deputy director of the Monash Gender, Peace and Security Centre at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. She recently led the research report, Gender Analysis on Violent Extremism and the Impact of COVID-19 on Peace and Security in ASEAN: Evidence-based Research for Policy. The report was done for the UN Women project, Empowering Women for Sustainable Peace: Preventing Violence and Promoting Social Cohesion in ASEAN.

[Press release] A dialogue among women leaders in the Asia-Pacific region to mark International Women’s Day 2022 also underscored the severe and unevenly distributed consequences of climate change and environmental degradation, while highlighting women’s voice and leadership in climate action and disaster risk reduction.

On 6 January 2022, UN Women Indonesia supported the Government of Indonesia by hosting a Peace Festival (Kenduri Perdamaian) themed “build back better by protecting and empowering women and girls in social conflict".

When I saw this happening, I did not want to be a silent spectator. I wanted to make a difference in my community. This is when I joined the village dengue prevention committee. We worked hard to raise awareness among the public and helped remove mosquito breeding sites. I am proud to say that our hard work paid off and we managed to eradicate dengue in the area.

Winifrida Elizabeth Nawaratne is a human rights activist and an active member of the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka. She became engaged in social work following a course on human rights at the University of Colombo, which she took after retiring from her job as a typist. She was a participant in UN Women’s multistakeholder dialogues titled “Promoting Women’s Engagement in Effective Solid Waste Management in Sri Lanka”. Winifrida dedicates her time to promoting women’s rights and women’s empowerment in her community in Puttalam, north-western Sri Lanka.

[Press release] At the signing ceremony, Ms. Sharmeela Rassool, said, “Over the years, Pakistan has worked towards creating progressive legal frameworks to safeguard the rights of women and girls. The implementation of the law remains imperative for real change on the ground. Only a gender-sensitive, systematic and coordinated response mechanism from the state, the judiciary, legal community, and other stakeholders will be important to improve women and vulnerable communities’ access to justice.”

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.

I am the co-founder of ila, a social enterprise start-up that uses human-centred design to help businesses foster inclusion. During COVID, women have been disproportionately disadvantaged, and in times of lockdown, 15 million women are affected by gender-based violence every three months. I wanted to create a support system where bystanders are trained to help domestic abuse victims and redirect them towards help by becoming allies; that’s how my team at ila came up with our application ALLY.

The first regional review of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration in Asia and the Pacific concluded today with a call for greater collaboration among countries in the region to implement this global framework for action to reap the benefits of migration for all.

[Prees release] Women and girls across South-East Asia who are members of an ethnic minority, live in a rural location, or suffer from poverty are at greatest risk of being left behind despite the region’s recent progress in gender equality, according to a new report by ASEAN and UN Women.

COVID19 has completely changed my life. After the university closed, all academic activities were suspended, and I was forced to return home. I live in a remote village in Bogura district and aside from worrying about my studies and the health risks posed by COVID19, I am also suffering from poor connectivity issues. However, I am trying to do my part during the crisis.

“The pandemic has completely transformed the ways we used to do things. Our Women Peace Café (WPC) work has been affected, everything has shifted to digital platforms, and the situations have changed at home. As soon as the university closed, I had to move back home. Because of the health crises, the number of chores increased at home and we had to do more cleaning and sanitizing to remain safe.

There are still 840 million people still living without electricity – most of them in poor and remote areas. While those who can afford it will buy kerosene lamps or candles, many people live in complete darkness once night falls, and this figure will have increased during the pandemic when so many have lost their livelihoods. Kerosene and candles also offer poor quality light at a high cost to the environment – one kerosene lamp can emit one ton of carbon dioxide in five years.

Shila Ale is a well-recognized woman human rights defender from Barahathawa Municipality, Province 2, Nepal. As member of Respect Nepal, a grassroots women’s organization (GWO), she has been working relentlessly to strengthen access to justice for women and excluded groups.

On July 10th, 2020, young leaders from China together with representatives from UN Women, research institutions, media and private sector companies attended “Promoting Gender Equality through Social Innovations” online dialogue co-organized by UN Women China and Tencent, one of China’s leading tech companies.

Martinho Carvalho Sarmento, recently promoted to the position of Inspector General, knows the benefits of having women involved in conflict mediation and prevention.

[Press release] UN Women, Embassy of Ireland and ChildFund Viet Nam are inviting all legal residents in Viet Nam, especially children and the youth, with no age limation, to participate in a new contest to eliminate gender stigma and stereotypes in fairy tales. The competition, called “Generation Equality’’, starts from 17 October 2019 and will run until 27 November 2019. The winner will have a chance to work with a professional team to develop their stories into a comic book or a video animation. The competition is part of activities to commemorate the Vietnamese Women’s Day, the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign 2019 and the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 2020.

Joker da Silva is an openly trans man. He is one of many LGBTI activists in Timor-Leste who have helped raise the visibility of the community, including through activities supported by UN Women that build connections and support among members. “I hated to look at myself in the mirror because I was a pretty girl but had a male attitude. Then I decided to devote myself to the church to change.