Bangladesh submits assessment of progress and challenges on women’s rights

Date: Tuesday, July 30, 2019

With UN Women’s technical support, Bangladesh has completed a review of its achievements and challenges in implementing the Beijing Platform for Action. The Beijing+25 National Review, drafted by the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, was submitted on 22 July for inclusion in a regional consultation to be organized in November by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

Improving support for women and girl survivors of sexual and gender-based violence

Date: Monday, July 29, 2019

Support for women and girl survivors of sexual and gender-based violence continues to improve as SAFENET Referral Network (SAFENET member numbers continue to increase.

Stepping in: Women must lead in dealing with natural disasters in Cambodia

Date: Thursday, July 25, 2019

“Livestock and rice fields of villagers were damaged,” recalled Kanha, “but the drowning death of a 7 year-old girl was heart-breaking for me.” The girl’s death brought grief to the community in Kampot, the southern Cambodia city where Kanha is Deputy District Governor. When a disaster hits, boys and girls, and men and women have distinct vulnerabilities, and this shapes the way the experience and recover from a disaster. One such vulnerability is gender inequality.

Political Will: A Significant Driver of Gender Budgeting

Date: Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Political will is the motive/will of the political leader of a nation that generates political action. The first person that comes to mind when one talks about political will is Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Everyone’s eyes are on what this political leader will accomplish in their term as head of the state. With regard to Gender Equality, various stakeholders of the Government have emphasised on “women-led development” as the big policy shift. One of the key ways to push this policy, is to make women enablers of the desired change. In my recent experience and interaction with this Government on Gender Budgeting, there are two particular instances of significance that I would like to enumerate upon.

UN Women Pakistan launches Essential Services Package for social services for women and girls subject to violence in Pakistan

Date: Tuesday, July 23, 2019

[Press Release] UN Women today launched the Essential Service Package (ESP) in order to ensure that quality social services are provided to women and girls subject to violence in Pakistan. Essential Services Package (ESP) is a global joint programme of the United Nations on essential services for women and girls subject to violence. The aim of this programme is to provide greater access to a coordinated set of essential and quality multi-sectoral services for all women and girls who have experienced gender-based violence.

UN Women, Ombudsperson Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ink accord to fight sexual harassment at workplaces

Date: Tuesday, July 23, 2019

[Press Release] UN Women Pakistan has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Office of Ombudsperson Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) for protection against sexual harassment of women at the workplace. Aisha Mukhtar, Deputy Country Representative, UN Women Pakistan, and Rukhshanda Naz, first Ombudsperson of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, signed the MoU.

People admire creativity of Rohingya refugee women at Dhaka art fair

Date: Monday, July 22, 2019

The Gender in Humanitarian Action Working Group, which UN Women co-chairs, organized the Rohingya Women’s Art Exhibition and Handicrafts Fair in Dhaka on 20 June to celebrate World Refugee Day. The hundreds of visitors admired items the women made, including clothing, patterns, wall hangings, art work, photos and decorations. Some gathered information on how to buy them.

In Bangladesh, a lawyer-activist helps Rohingya survivors of violence

Date: Monday, July 22, 2019

Lawyer and human rights activist Razia Sultana has strived to ease the plight of the Rohingya, advocating for their cause in international forums and helping them cope with trauma in refugee camps in Bangladesh. “We do not live a normal life,” she said in an interview with UN Women late last year. “The camps in Cox’s Bazar are crowded and we cannot leave freely. We are stateless persons. We are not even Bangladeshis. We have no address -- This life is not for anyone.”

Consultation to Shape New Programme on Women’s Resilience to Disasters

Date: Thursday, July 18, 2019

Recognising the strength and innovation of women, and harnessing existing initiatives through lessons learned in the face of a changing climate and in the aftermath of disasters is vital to women’s resilience building.

Pushing back against old attitudes to help survivors of violence in Cambodia

Date: Wednesday, July 17, 2019

As a young man, Vutha Phon was troubled to learn that so many women and girls in his country had suffered from gang rape. Even boys assaulting girls. His mother told him about how in the forced-labour fields of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s, women were swiftly slaughtered after being raped. Phon is now putting to work his longstanding commitment to help survivors of violence as an officer overseeing the Cambodia project of the UN joint Global Programme on Essential Services for Women and Girls Subject to Violence.