A fatwa was issed against me; they condemned me for normalizing obscenity and indecency among women by persuading them to come out of their homes. … I said, ‘You should also give a fatwa against Hazrat Khadija (the first wife of Prophet Muhammad) because she was also a trader.’ “God has not made us as weak as we have made ourselves.”

“Leadership isn’t easy, you have to be respectful and humble. It takes a strong heart,” explains Nausori Market Vendors’ Association President Venina Korovusere to representatives from Finland, Iceland, Singapore, Germany, United States and several other UN Women National Committees who were in Fiji for the Global National Committees’ Meeting last month. Hosted by the UN Women National...

In Samoa, women marrying outside their home village are referred as “nofotane”. Nofotane women are often denied any voice in decision-making within their homes and communities. With the support of UN Women’s Fund for Gender Equality, the Samoa Victims Support Group raised awareness and advocated for nofotane women’s rights. As a result, a nofotane representative now sits in village council meetings, and men and women alike are changing their attitudes about gender...

For most of her 48 years, Sao Mimol has endured taunts, from her family at home and from strangers on the street. But she remains bubbly and happy because she still chose to stay true to herself. Even though she had many brothers and sisters while growing up in Takeo Province near Phnom Penh, Ms. Mimol often felt outside of the box, disconnected from the world around her. She was 20 when she first realized that she was...

In Afghanistan child marriage is a harsh reality for too many young women. More than 46 per cent of Afghan women are married before age 18, according to the Afghanistan Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2010/2011, and more than 15 per cent before age 15.