When the lockdown came, Periwanga, 39, had been doing tailoring and selling traditional meri blouses at the market for only a year after leaving her previous job as a teacher. “This was a brief period, but it really affected us,” she recalled. “Police was ever on standby to stop people from accessing the market. Customers were only allowed to buy from big shops.”

Palu, Indonesia – Supported by UN Women and its project partner, The Asian Muslim Action Network (AMAN Indonesia), activists and government authorities who believe that women can play important roles in the effort are devising gender-responsive ways to tackle the risks of violent extremism in Indonesia’s Central Sulawesi province.

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.

Dewi Rana is director of  Lingkar Belajar Untuk (Libu Perempuan), or Learning Circle Association for Women, a non-governmental organization that promotes women’s rights in Central Sulawesi province, Indonesia. The organization gathered members of civil society and government officials to draft the province’s action plan on preventing and countering violent extremism. That work has been supported by UN Women and its partner Aliansi Masyarat Adat Nusantara, or The Indigenous People’s Alliance of the Archipelago. Rana was interviewed by Xinyue Gu of UN Women.

The Philippines Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front signed an agreement in 2014 to end the protracted conflict in the Bangsamoro region of the southern Philippines. But while the agreement included provisions on empowering women, women and other groups including indigenous peoples, people living in conflict-affected areas and former combatants are at risk of being pushed to the margins.

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.

Five years ago, Paula Kundi had never even had a bank account. Today, thanks to financial training provided by UN Women, the 35 year-old market vendor and single mother living with disability has savings, and plans to set up her own business. “I never knew the importance of saving money,” said Paula. “The financial literacy trainings helped me to change my perception about savings and how to manage money wisely.

[Press release] UN Women has received a funding contribution of USD1.9 million from the Japanese government to strengthen its work in three markets in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The funding focuses on improving market infrastructure and access to finance for market vendors in Tari, Wewak and Alotau.

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...

UN Women joins the United Nations Secretary-General and the UN family in Afghanistan in strongly condemning the horrific attack near a school in Dasht-i-Barchi, Kabul, Afghanistan, that killed and injured scores of civilians, including many girls. Attacks such as this constitute a grave violation of the rights of children and human rights more broadly.

Port Vila, Luganville and Marobe markets in Vanuatu have strengthened preparedness towards the on-going impacts of COVID-19, thanks to the WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) support received through the Markets for Change (M4C) Project in Vanuatu.

The Malaita Provincial Government of Solomon Islands received the additional infrastructure work done to the Auki Market through the Markets for Change [M4C] project, in the presence of partners including representatives of the Australian High Commission and the Market Vendors Association, in a hand-over ceremony last week, that observed local custom and protocol.

Partners of the Markets for Change project in Samoa, including Peseta Noumea Simi, the Chief Executive Officer of Samoa’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) and H.E. Dr Trevor Matheson, the New Zealand High Commissioner joined other stakeholder representatives for a Phase II design validation workshop earlier this month (5 March).

In consultation with market vendors and relevant authorities, the Markets for Change (M4C) project provided WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) materials to support the COVID-19 response work in Honiara, Auki, and Gizo markets.

The COVID-19 pandemic has magnified the role of women leaders in ensuring markets continue to operate to support women’s livelihoods and food security for communities. Women market vendors, market management, representatives from the Governments of Fiji and Australia, and UN Women came together today to highlight the role of women’s leadership in local government and market spaces in Fiji, while commemorating International Women’s Day (IWD) on March 8.

[Press release] Participants. Photo: UN Women/Ednah Ramoau Gizo, Solomon Islands – Women market vendors of Munda, in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands have established a Market Vendor Association, an inclusive and effective representative marketplace group that can advocate for the rights and interests of market vendors. More than 35 market vendors came together in Munda this week to go through some basic training around the formation of an association. Topics covered...

As a demonstration of commitment to place gender at the core of collaborative security action in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) in the Philippines, representatives from the Government and from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, security actors and representatives from women’s organizations came together for a three-day workshop (3–5 February 2021) to discuss how to strengthen cooperation on a range of issues related to gender and security in BARMM.

Partners of the Markets for Change (M4C) project in the Solomon Islands, including the Hon. Freda Tuki Rangirei, Minister for Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs and H.E Dr Lachlan Strahan, the Australian High Commissioner, joined other stakeholder representatives from the national and provincial governments, municipal councils and market vendor associations, for the M4C Phase II Design Validation Workshop today.

Partners of the Markets for Change (M4C) project in Vanuatu, including the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Internal Affairs Hon. Maau’Koro Alatoi Ishmael Kalsakau joined Australia’s Deputy High Commissioner H.E Clemency Oliphant and other stakeholder representatives from the local governments, municipal councils, market vendor associations, and government departments for the M4C Phase II Design Validation Workshop on Monday.

The Hon. Premila Kumar, Minister for Local Government, H.E John Feakes, the Australian High Commissioner to Fiji and Sandra Bernklau, the Representative of UN Women joined other stakeholders from municipal councils and market vendor associations at a validation workshop to discuss plans for a second phase of the Markets for Change project for Fiji.