‘Equality means business’ in Bangladesh

Date: Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Inspired by the Women’s Empowerment Principles of UN Women and United Nations Global Compact, more companies operating in Bangladesh -- including multinationals Unilever and Standard Charter Bank -- have pledged to improve conditions and opportunities for female employees. On 9 March, International Women’s Day, UN Women and consumer goods giant Unilever in Bangladesh jointly organized a series of events called Balance for Better that brought together private businesses, youths and academics to start talking about gender equality. CEOs of companies pledged to work on gender equality, youth leaders spoke about their journeys and aspirations

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.

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.

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.

Beijing+25 Asia-Pacific Youth Blog

Date: Wednesday, July 17, 2019

[Call for submissions] The Beijing+25 Asia-Pacific Youth Blog will be hosted on the UN Women Asia-Pacific website and will accept submissions from young people aged 14 to 30 years from any country in the region. The year 2020 will also mark the five-year review of the Sustainable Development Goals, the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Security Council resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, and the 10th anniversary of the creation of UN Women.

UN Women helps bring a rainbow to Metro Manila during Pride march

Date: Monday, July 15, 2019

The sun may not have been shining on the Metro Manila Pride March in Marikina City, but the horizon was nonetheless illuminated with bright rainbow flags and costumes celebrating the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) community. Roughly 56,000 people took to the streets in the 29 June march to celebrate diversity of sexual expression and gender identity, and to rally for the rights of the LGBTQI community. This year’s theme was Resist Together, a call for advocates and supporters to fight discrimination against LGBTQI people.

Thai designer raises funds to help refugee women and girls

Date: Wednesday, July 10, 2019

Leading Thai designer and entertainer Vatanika Patamasingh hosted a gala event to raise funds for the life-changing work of UN Women supporting women and girls living in refugee camps in Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh. Actors, journalists and CEOs of Thai and Chinese businesses were among the about 60 people who attended the 26 June gala dinner in Bangkok that Vatanika hosted to celebrate the responses to her donation drive and to raise awareness about UN Women’s work in Cox’s Bazar.

Nepal marks first national celebration of its one-third representation of women in Parliament

Date: Tuesday, July 9, 2019

Amid a dizzying array of dialects and attire reflecting Nepal’s rich regional and ethnic diversity, over 700 women local government leaders and representatives of District Coordination Committees from across the country gathered at City Hall in Kathmandu on 30 May (Jestha 16 in the Nepali calendar). On this day in 2006, the current President of Nepal, Bidhya Devi Bhandari, then a lawmaker, presented a resolution before the House of Representatives demanding at least 33 per cent representation of women in all the state mechanisms. The proposal was endorsed that same day. To mark this important milestone in Nepali history, the Cabinet decided in May 2019 to celebrate Jestha 16 as National Women’s Rights Day.

Breaking the silence on violence against women in Thailand through the Vagina Monologues

Date: Tuesday, July 9, 2019

Many of the more than 100 people in the audience raved about the performance of the stage play The Vagina Monologues, which UN Women organized at the United Nations regional headquarters in Bangkok on 25 June. The 25th is the United Nation’s monthly Orange Day to raise awareness about violence against women and girls. The play by American playwright and activist Eve Ensler has been staged all over the world.

#Code4peace hackathon revolutionizes the way Afghan women voice their priorities for peace

Date: Friday, July 5, 2019

Twelve teams competed in Afghanistan’s largest and first-ever hackathon on women, peace and security, aiming to create a national platform for rural and urban women to voice their priorities for peace. The hackathon, called #code4peace, was organized by UN Women from 17-20 June 2019 in the province of Bamyan, Afghanistan.